NBA Pacers end Knicks season: Finals against Celtics
After some outstanding performances, Hartenstein (3rd from left) probably had his worst playoff game of the season. photo
© Julia Nikhinson/AP
The Indiana Pacers are in the NBA Conference Finals. It’s over for the New York Knicks around Isaiah Hartenstein – also because another key player is injured.
The Indiana Pacers have ended the NBA season with the New York Knicks led by German basketball professional Isaiah Hartenstein and are in the finals of the Eastern Conference. The Pacers won game seven of the competitive series in New York 130:109 and are back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in ten years. There they will meet the Celtics in game one in Boston on Wednesday night.
The personnel-depleted Knicks conceded 39 points in the first quarter – according to US media, there had not been that many in a game seven of the playoffs since 1997. In the final quarter, the team was without Jalen Brunson, who was diagnosed with a fracture in his left hand. By then he had scored 17 points and had not been able to build on his recent top performances.
Hartenstein’s long season was also noticeable. After some outstanding performances, he probably had his worst playoff game of the season, remained without points and was ultimately involved in his team’s unnecessary ball losses. In the end, his teammate Donte DiVincenzo’s 39 points were clearly not enough.
Tyrese Haliburton was particularly impressive for the consistently strong Pacers with 26 points. The team, coached by Dirk Nowitzki’s former coach Rick Carlisle, was aggressive and hit a sensational rate of more than 70 percent of all shots well into the final quarter. The 67.1 percent at the end was also a record in the playoffs. The victory in game seven was the first away win for Indiana in the series against the Knicks, who had already missed a chance for the necessary fourth win on Friday.
dpa
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