At the Buzzer: R3G4 — Pacers 130, Knicks 121
With Tuesday's win over the Knicks, the Pacers are now one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. Game 5 is Thursday in New York.
One game after letting a 16-point second-half lead slip away, the Pacers were focused on getting the split in front of their home crowd. Through the first three games, the road team had won each tune.
The biggest question between games was the health of Aaron Nesmith, who sustained a right ankle sprain in Sunday’s loss. I’m told he received extensive treatment and responded well, setting him up to play confidently in Game 4. The only surprising thing was that the Pacers announced that he was good to go at 5:40 p.m. ET, more than two hours before tip-off. I appreciated it, but teams usually keep it close to the vest.
The game officials were John Goble, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland, and Nick Buchert (alternate)
Nesmith’s right ankle and Karl-Anthony Towns left knee were the two injury concerns.
The TNT announcing crew — for the entire series: Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Stan Van Gundy, and Allie LaForce. It’s Reggie’s 15th conference finals.
Sports books favored the Pacers by three points.
Watch my live postgame show in the media player below:
🏀How it happened: Indianapolis was buzzing Tuesday, ready for their second home game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Nationally, multiple networks went live on site — including Pat McAfee hosting his daily show in Morris Bicentennial Plaza.
The Pacers were disappointed with their performance in Game 3, letting it slip away. Pascal Siakam has been the tone-setter for this team all season and he’s not going to let them crumble.
He quietly scored 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting; his big games rarely make noise. But it was the type of performance the Pacers needed, especially given that Nesmith wasn’t 100%. However, Nesmith never played like he was bothered by an ankle sprain. Incredible job to get that ankle ready for this one.
With Triple H and Nick Khan of the WWE sitting courtside by the Pacers’ bench, along with McAfee, Haliburton put on a show for them — and the other 17,274 in attendance. He delivered in every facet and recorded a game he’ll always remember.
He did everything the team needed to get a win.
The Pacers got off to a remarkable start offensively, piling up 43 points in the first 12 minutes. That was one more point than they scored in the second half of Game 3. They started 6 of 7 from distance and Haliburton was easily on his way to a triple-double by that point. Best of all, they set the tone with a 12-2 advantage in points scored in transition.
After the Knicks briefly took the lead, 61-60, the Pacers took it right back and then made it 69-64 by halftime. They had made all 11 free throw attempts for good measure.
Out of the locker room, they continued to pour it on and stretched their run to 13-0. At this point, the team and fans were feeling good — but there was still a long way to go. Just think back to Sunday.
Bennedict Mathurin had a 23-point Game 3 against the Cavs, but this was his best playoff game in his young career. This is just his first time playing in the postseason, Rick Carlisle called for him to step up and he did just that. Then after the performance, I’m told he was back on the court at the practice facility to keep working. He’s competitive like crazy — and relentless. He has a bright future and they needed a game like this out of their young guard.
Both teams started the fourth quarter poorly. Turnovers, poor shot selection, and too many fouls. Each time the Knicks made a run, the Pacers had an answer.
The Knicks cut it to six, 120-114, and the Pacers used a timeout with 3:06 left. Then they held on led by a masterful showing from Haliburton.