Pacers Beat Knicks 116-103 in NBA
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —
Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle challenged his team to play more physically and more tenaciously Friday night.
His desperate team responded with one of its most inspired performances all season.
Pascal Siakam finished with 25 points and seven rebounds, Myles Turner added 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Pacers turned the tables on the New York Knicks with a 116-103 victory to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at 3-3.
The decisive Game 7 will be played Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Indiana had two days to figure out how to contend with the Knicks’ hustle plays and their strength on the glass, two things that led to Tuesday’s 30-point blowout in Game 5 and put the Pacers on the brink of elimination.
This time, the Pacers held a 47-35 rebounding edge and even had a slight 14-13 advantage on the offensive end. And they had balanced scoring, too, which spread out the Knicks defense.
Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each scored 15 points, with Nembhard pulling down six rebounds and dishing out six assists. Haliburton had nine assists as Indiana kept its perfect postseason home record intact at 6-0, in front of a raucous sellout crowd that helped re-energize the Pacers during key moments.
Even Jalen Brunson, the All-Star who has been the league’s top postseason scorer. Yes, he finished with 31 points and five assists while shooting 11 of 26 from the field, but that came after he missed his final 11 shots in the first half.