Game Rewind: Pacers 116, Knicks 103 (Game 6)

Friday, May 17 at 8:30 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

With the Pacers facing an elimination game for the first time this postseason, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said he expected the team's "level of urgency" to be "at a fever pitch" in Game 6 on Friday night against the New York Knicks. All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton said the Blue & Gold needed to have "a level of desperation that we’ve never had before."

The Pacers lived up to those expectations on Friday, flying all over the floor from the opening tip and willing their way to a 116-103 victory in Game 6 to force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals.

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After laying an egg in a 30-point loss in Game 5 in New York on Tuesday night, the Pacers responded with an all-out effort that had the sellout crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on its feet and roaring early, often, and late into the night.

The Pacers outscored New York 62-38 in points in the paint and outrebounded the Knicks 47-35. It was an impressive reversal from Tuesday, when the Knicks outscored Indiana by 26 points in the paint and outrebounded the Pacers by 24.

After the win, several members of the team mentioned a spirited film session at Thursday's practice as a key motivator heading into Game 6.

"I think coach just challenged our effort," Haliburton said. "I think that was the biggest thing. We had some bone-headed things happen offensively, turnovers...but I think when you go back and look at Game 5, the majority of everything that added up was rebounding the basketball. A lot of their points were off second-chance, and they kept rebounding the ball and that didn’t allow us to play in transition so that affected our offense, too, at the same time."

Veteran forward Pascal Siakam led the way offensively on Friday, scoring 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. With the Knicks utilizing a small-ball starting lineup that essentially features four guards, the Blue & Gold worked the offense through their 6-8 swingman.

Five other Pacers finished in double figures, including Myles Turner (17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, and two blocks), Haliburton (15 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and two blocks), and Andrew Nembhard (15 points, six boards, and six assists).

Playing aggressively from the opening tip, the Pacers got off to a fast start, as Nembhard scored six quick points and Turner threw down a thunderous jam in traffic to propel Indiana to an early 13-9 lead.

But Miles McBride provided an unlikely spark for the Knicks offense early, knocking down three 3-pointers and scoring 11 of New York's first 17 points. Donte DiVincenzo then got hot, scoring the next eight Knicks points to put the visitors in front, 25-20.

The Blue & Gold clawed back over the closing minutes of the first quarter, ending the frame with a 10-4 run to trim the Knicks' lead back to one.

The first half of second quarter was highly competitive, featuring five ties and seven lead changes. But the final six minutes of the frame was all Pacers.

Indiana outscored New York 17-5 overall the the last six minutes of the half. Turner scored nine points over that stretch, including a monster cutting dunk off a dish from Pascal Siakam that brought the house down.

The Knicks did get a little momentum at the end of the half, as DiVincenzo buried a three from the right corner in the closing seconds and then Nembhard was whistled for a technical foul after the halftime buzzer.

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson shot the technical free throw at the start of the third quarter. He made it, then scored a layup on the Knicks' first possession. After Siakam missed a jumper, McBride scored to suddenly make it a five-point game just 38 seconds into the second half.

After a timeout from Carlisle, the Blue & Gold responded, with Nembhard and Haliburton knocking down back-to-back threes to push the margin back to double digits.

"I didn’t have to say much," Carlisle said of the timeout. "The guys in the huddle came together and they said we’ve got to make a stand and we’ve got to go on a run here. We hit a couple threes and we got things back to where we needed to get them. That was an important point in the game."

The Blue & Gold continued to grow the lead from there, with Turner coming up with another big dunk — this one a put-back slam after Aaron Nesmith missed a three — that pushed the lead to 13. A short while later, two straight jumpers from Haliburton and a three-point play from T.J. McConnell made it 84-66.

Indiana took an 88-75 lead into the fourth quarter. Nembhard's 3-pointer made it a 20-point game with 8:24 remaining and the Blue & Gold never looked back. Obi Toppin provided the icing on the cake, driving to the basket and throwing down a left-handed dunk on Isaiah Hartenstein.

McConnell and Toppin once again were very impressive off the bench on Friday. McConnell tallied 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting and four assists in 16 minutes, while Toppin scored 11 in 18 minutes on 5-of-6 shooting.

Brunson scored 26 of his game-high 31 points after halftime to lead New York in the loss. McBride added 20 points, going 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range, while DiVincenzo scored 17.

There will be a quick turnaround for Game 7, as the Pacers and Knicks will meet at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 PM. The winner will advance to face the top-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, which will begin on Tuesday night in Boston.

"We know the storied history of this rivalry between these two franchises, and now we’re adding another chapter to that," Haliburton said. "I think we’re all excited to go. There’s going to be a lot of energy in the building from them and from us. I think just weathering our emotions as much as we can, don't’ get too high and don’t get too low. It’s gonna be a game of runs...I expect whoever plays harder to win. I’m excited to be a part of that."

The Pacers shot 53.8 percent from the field while holding New York to 43.9 percent shooting.

Siakam surpassed 20 points for the third time this series and the fifth time this postseason.

The Blue & Gold had 35 assists in Game 6, their second-highest assist total in a playoff game in franchise history. It would have been a new record if not for the 38 assists Indiana dished out in a 125-108 win in Milwaukee in Game 2 of their first-round series last month.

After being outrebounded 20-5 on the offensive glass in Game 5, the Pacers had 14 offensive rebounds to New York's 13 on Friday. The Knicks led the NBA in offensive rebounding this season, but the Pacers have pulled down more offensive boards in four out of six games this series.

Brunson was 2-for-13 from the field in the first half, but 9-for-13 in the second half to record his third 30-point game of the series.

“We needed to do better in the aggression department….Game 5 in New York was I would have to say our lowest aggression game of the entire playoffs. We didn’t have a very fun film session yesterday watching it. But you go through these ups and downs and young teams are going to grow. We’ll find up how much on Sunday.” -Carlisle on what changed from Game 5 to Game 6

“Game 5 was an embarrassment I think on all fronts from all of us. We just made a concerted effort — credit to Myles and the bigs and just the entire group of coming together and being mature about it and knowing what we had to fix and going out there and fixing it.” -McConnell on the improvements from Game 5

“He’s a tremendous player. We got him because we wanted to make the playoffs and be able to advance in the playoffs. But we’re also trying to build something special here...Tonight in the second half there were some possessions where he’s the only guy on our roster that can manufacture a 16-foot shot over a 7-foot guy and make it. He did it three or four times in the third and fourth quarter.” -Carlisle on Pascal Siakam

“He didn’t force anything. He just kind of let the game come to him. He’s just a special player. When we traded for him, it was I think for moments like he’s had here, going to get a bucket when we really need it and just bringing a different dynamic to this team. He’s been incredible.” -McConnell on Siakam

“When they put a smaller guy on him, we need him to do what he does and attack the paint, be a beast down low. It’s hard to guard, it puts pressure on their defense. And when he has it going, it makes it easier for kick outs and sprays.” -Nesmith on getting Siakam going

“He’s changed things for the better for this franchise and for this city. When you’ve got a guy who’s your franchise guy that really gets people involved and that’s his main objective is to get people going and shoot when he’s open, it’s easy for everyone to rally around a guy like that…As a teammate and a person, he’s one of the best I’ve ever been around.” -McConnell on Tyrese Haliburton

“He’s a rockstar. His energy, the way he plays the game … the home crowd loves him and we love him.” -Siakam on McConnell

“It’s the ultimate game. This is a great opportunity…This team’s been through a lot of new experiences over the last three-and-a-half weeks and this will be another new one. We’ll do everything possible to get them ready, but in Game 7s it comes down to compete level and how well you’re tied together.” -Carlisle on what is different about playing a Game 7

“It’s one of those things where the team that exerts the most energy and plays to exhaustion comes out on top. It’s win or go home. It’s something that I feel like every player plays for, a Game 7. Excited for the opportunity, but we have to be more dialed in than I think any of us have ever been before.” -McConnell on playing in a Game 7

“That’s the best two words in sports. I think everybody in here’s excited for it. I know it’s a lot of people’s first Game 7…It’s going to be a lot of fun.” -Nesmith on playing a Game 7

“It’s exciting for us. A lot of us, this is our first playoff experience let alone our first Game 7. I think we’re all excited about it. We’ve got to be ready to go for 48 minutes. The Garden is an unbelievable environment and the crowd will be rowdy. We just haven’t won there yet, so  we’ve got to prove we’re able to do that.” -Haliburton on Game 7

After Friday's victory, the Pacers are a perfect 6-0 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this postseason and have won 11 straight home games including the regular season. Indiana's last home loss was on March 18.

The Pacers and Knicks will play Game 7 on Sunday, May 19 at 3:30 PM ET at Madison Square Garden. The game will air nationally on ABC.

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