Indiana crushes Knicks and books a showdown with Oklahoma!

Indiana Pacers played in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics. At the time, many basketball analysts claimed that Indiana only reached the Conference Finals due to injuries that plagued their opponents (Milwaukee, New York). Because of this, few believed the Pacers could repeat that success this season.

Before the playoffs, NBA players voted Tyrese Haliburton as the most overrated player in the entire league in an anonymous poll. He and the Pacers proved everyone wrong and, for the first time since 2000, will play in the NBA Finals. In this playoff run, Indiana first defeated Milwaukee (4–1), then Cleveland by the same score, and now has eliminated the New York Knicks 4–2 after six games.

The Pacers stole two games at Madison Square Garden, then the Knicks showed some life, but Rick Carlisle’s team settled the matter in Game 6 with a 125–108 victory. It was a convincing and confident win by Indiana, who didn’t want to return to the Big Apple for a Game 7—they wanted to send the Knicks packing to some exotic vacation destination in front of their home fans. That was especially evident in the third quarter, which Indiana opened with a 9–0 run to take a 13-point lead.

From that moment on, New York had to chase the score, but it turned out to be an impossible mission. Knicks managed to cut the deficit to single digits several times, but the Pacers always had an answer. At one point, Indiana strung together another 9-point run and pulled away by 16.

Knicks had 12 more minutes in the fourth quarter to try to pull off a miracle, but Carlisle’s squad, fueled by an incredible home atmosphere, didn’t allow it. With three minutes left, they extended the lead to over 20 points, so both coaches brought in their bench players, as the winner was already decided.

The most efficient player in Indiana’s victory was Pascal Siakam with 31 points, and he was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals. He was followed by Tyrese Haliburton with 21 points and 13 assists. Obi Toppin contributed 18, Andrew Nembhard added 14, while centers Myles Turner and Thomas Bryant each scored 11.

For the Knicks, OG Anunoby led the way with 24 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds, while New York’s main star Jalen Brunson scored 19.

It's now clear that the Finals will feature two young teams that love to play at a fast pace. The first game between Oklahoma and Indiana is scheduled for the night between June 5 and 6 at 3:30 AM.