Every time this Indiana Pacers team faces adversity, they come back with a performance that makes you wonder why you would ever question them in the first place.
After what they termed an “embarrassing” 30-point loss to the New York Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Tuesday night, Pacers players and coaches regrouped in Indianapolis, analyzed film, and upped the intensity in practice.
The replay of the game reinforced what Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had suspected: the defeat came down to two areas his team can control — effort and energy.
Stats also backed up the conclusion, as the Pacers were beaten on the boards 53-29 (20-5 on the offensive glass) in Game 5 and outscored 62-36 in the paint.
With their season on the line Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Pacers did what it has done all season: used growing pains to bounce back.
Indiana’s historically high-powered engine kicked into another gear in Game 6, as the Pacers handled the Knicks 116-103 on Friday to force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
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“We needed to do better in the aggression department,” Carlisle said. "...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."
Indiana flipped the box score in Game 6, winning the rebounding margin 47-35 (14-13 on the offensive glass) and beating New York 62-38 in points scored in the paint. On defense, the Pacers also recorded three steals and eight blocks as they hounded the Knicks from beginning to end.
The entire starting five for the Blue & Gold had each collected at least six rebounds by the third quarter. In Game 5, just Pascal Siakam has at least six boards by the final buzzer.
Indiana’s entire roster responded in Game 6, with players like point guard Tyrese Haliburton (15 points, nine assists) and Siakam (25 points, seven rebounds) putting together superstar performances and stalwarts Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell hounding the Knicks for 94 feet on defense throughout the entire shot clock.
Haliburton vowed he would be better after Game 5, and said his team never thought Friday's matchup would be the team's last of 2024.
“Dudes don’t want to go home. We had to come out and play desperate,” Haliburton said. “I think when you’re in the playoffs, they always talk about the more desperate team is typically the team that wins. Us being down 3-2, the pressure was on us.”
Indiana Pacers Postgame Media Availability vs. New York Knicks (Game 6) | May 17, 2024
While Indiana led for most of the game, the resilient Knicks refused to back down in the second half.
After the Knicks narrowed the Pacers’ lead to five points early in the third quarter, the Blue & Gold showed fans they wouldn’t let the snowball turn into an avalanche of points.
Out of a timeout during an 8-0 Knicks run, the Pacers turned around and put together a 12-4 scoring streak. The Pacers then led by double digits for the rest of the game.
“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,” Carlisle said. “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.”
While happy with the win, Pacers players and coaches put Game 6 in the rearview on Friday night. The Blue & Gold know they will need to bring the same energy to Game 7, if not more, but without a sell-out home crowd giving them extra juice.
“It’s one of those things where the team that exerts the most energy and plays to exhaustion comes out on top,” McConnell. “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.”
Sunday will mark the third Game 7 between Indiana and New York in the playoffs. The Knicks won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in 1994, but the Pacers got payback the following year, winning in New York in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
On the Pacers’ roster, only a few players, including Siakam and Myles Turner, have ever played in a Game 7. Siakam played in the famous second-round series between Toronto and Philadelphia in 2019, ending with a Kawhi Leonard shot bouncing in at the buzzer for the Raptors in Game 7.
The Pacers traded for Siakam this past winter because of his experience and leadership abilities, and he has remained a steady voice in the locker room during the playoffs.
“I think as long as you kind of stay focused within the game plan, and play with some energy...I think the hardest-playing team usually wins those games,” Siakam said. “So that should be our focus.”
The Pacers' all-time record in Game 7s is 3-6. They last won a Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks in 2014.