The Indiana Pacers evened the odds at 2-2 in the second round series by demolishing the New York Knicks 121-89 on Sunday afternoon.
Their 28-point halftime lead was the largest in organization history.
Conversely, the weight of injuries and fatigue was seriously felt by the Knicks, whose 43-point deficit mid-game was by far their worst of the entire season, which previously stood at 32.
Jalen Brunson in particular, who is fighting a foot injury, is not a shadow of himself and he was limited to 18 points.
Among the winners, Tyrese Haliburton provided 20 points, while Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner added 14 and 13 respectively. The locals, who won their last 10 games at home including the regular season, also counted on the help from their reserves, with 15 points and 10 assists from TJ McConnell and 14 points from Obi Toppin.
Haliburton was given a lot of space at the start of the game to block two three-pointers and the Pacers quickly took a lead of 22-8, then 34-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The Pacers continued to be particularly effective on rebounds and taking their lead while the Knicks were already showing signs of fatigue in their rotation.
The lead only grew to 69-41 at halftime, concluding the first half with another long Haliburton basket for a collective shooting efficiency of 61% compared to only 36% for the Knicks . Indiana’s reserves at one point had as many points (27) as all of their opponents.
The second half was just a continuation of the first. Coach Tom Thibodeau ended up sitting and resting his starters for the majority of the final quarter in a hopeless cause.
The Knicks were still without OG Anunoby, who injured his hamstring in Game 2 before missing the next one. They turned to Precious Achiuwa in the starting lineup, but he didn’t do the job in his absence with his 8 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes. Alec Burks also had more playing time and had 20 points. Donte DiVicenzo, who had been dominant at the start of the confrontation, was satisfied with 7 points.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson were also missing for the Knicks.
The series will return to Madison Square Garden in New York on Tuesday.
2024-05-12 21:55:00
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