Having respectively won their series against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia Sixers on Thursday evening, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks will meet in the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the NBA play-offs.
Thanks to Jalen Brunson’s 41 points, the Knicks won Game 6 (118-115) against Philadelphia and thus won their series 4-2, just like the Pacers, who for their part scored a final convincing victory ahead of Milwaukee (120-98).
The two franchises will meet on Monday at Madison Square Garden. If the Knicks qualified for the second round for the second consecutive season, the Pacers had not experienced the semis since 2014, the year they reached the Eastern Conference final.
The Knicks are doing well
In Philadelphia, the victory came down to the wire for New York, and on a winning shot from Josh Hart a little less than 26 seconds from the end of the match which allowed the Knicks to take control and never let go .
After failing to eliminate their opponent in Game 5, ultimately lost at home (112-106), the Knicks started the match with a bang, going so far as to lead by 22 points shortly before the end of the first quarter.
But the 76ers regained control at halftime (54-51) and even recorded a 10-point lead in the third quarter.
“They fought, took the lead, but that good start helped us,” Jalen Brunson said.
“No matter the situation, we will fight,” he added.
To his 41 points, Brunson can add 12 assists, while Donte DiVincenzo, author of two valuable free throws at the end of the game, scored 23 points.
Josh Hart finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, cheered by Knicks fans who had traveled to Philadelphia, as during Game 4 where Joel Embiid himself was heckled in his own enclosure.
Last season’s MVP, Embiid, whose season was disrupted by a knee injury, finished the game with 39 points (13 rebounds, 2 assists), ahead of Buddy Hield (20 pts) and Tyrese Maxey (17 pts, 5 rebounds, 5 assists).
The Pacers 10 years later
After missing, like the Knicks, the opportunity to qualify for Game 5, the Pacers this time concluded their series 4-2.
Tyrese Haliburton achieved a double-double (17 points, 10 assists) but it was Obi Toppin who emerged as Indiana’s top scorer with 21 points while TJMcConnell scored 20.
The Pacers led by 12 points at halftime, before pulling away in the final quarter.
On the Bucks side, Damian Lillard, returning from a two-match absence due to injury, led his team with 28 points. Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis added 20 each but, still deprived of Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee did not find the solution.
The Bucks, champions in 2021, are eliminated at the end of the first round for the second time in a row, after being beaten by Miami last year.
2024-05-03 08:21:00
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