INIDANAPOLIS — After three games that were very close, the Indiana Pacers got off to a quick start in Game 4.
The understaffed New York Knicks just couldn't keep up.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points, T.J. McConnell had 15 points and 10 assists, and the Pacers defeated the Knicks 121-89, with the third-largest playoff win in the team's NBA history, making the series 2-2.
Game 5 is set for Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
“All we did was do our job,” Haliburton said after getting six rebounds, five assists and four 3-pointers. “When you’re at home, you have to protect home court, so we did our job. We understand the magnitude of Game 5 and we’ll be prepared for that one.”
The first three games were decided by key plays in the final three minutes.
Sunday’s game was different. Indiana led by as much as 43 — the largest lead any playoff team has had in these playoffs — and fell just short of matching its two largest NBA postseason wins, a 34-point victory over Cleveland in April 2018 and a 33-point win over the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.
And while Indiana could seemingly do nothing wrong, the Knicks couldn’t do anything right.
Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin each scored 14 points, Aaron Nesmith grabbed 12 rebounds and the Pacers shot 56.8% from the field, 45.2% on 3-pointers and erased their only deficit of the game, 2-0, just 44 seconds into the game.
The Knicks, who again played without four key players because of injuries, looked fatigued.
Alec Burks finished with 20 points for New York. Brunson, who entered the day with a league-best 34.6 points per game in the postseason, scored only 18 on a day the Knicks shot 33.7% from the field, 18.9% on 3s and flirted with posting the worst playoff loss in franchise history. The record, 41, came at Chicago in April 1991.
Brunson wasn’t the only one struggling. Donte DiVincenzo, who had 35 points in Game 3, scored just seven on Sunday. The two guards were a combined 9 of 30 from the field and 1 of 11 on 3s.
“We can talk about fresher legs and you can give us all the pity we want,” Brunson said. “Yeah, we’re short-handed, but that doesn’t matter right now. We have what we have. So there’s no we’re short-handed, there’s no excuse. We lose, we lose. That’s what that was.”
Once again, the Pacers fed off the energy of a nearly full Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where they are now 5-0 with Game 6 coming back to Indianapolis on Friday. Those watching from courtside included Indiana-born singer John Mellencamp, Indianapolis 500 winners Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti and former Pacers stars Dale Davis and Derrick McKey.
What they witnessed was the most dominant performance in the series.
Without forwards OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Julius Randle as well as center Mitchell Robinson, New York produced a 14-point first quarter and a 41-point first half — its two lowest totals through the first 10 playoff games this season.
A predictable result followed.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said the team started slowly, missed some easy shots, and fell behind. He thought the missed shots took away their energy and they can't let that happen.
The Pacers avoided making that mistake.
Haliburton's first 3-pointer put Indiana in the lead at 5-2, and then they scored 29 points while New York only scored 7 in the first quarter, making it 34-11.
New York couldn't recover. They reduced the difference to 36-19 early in the second quarter, but Indiana responded with 10 consecutive points, stretching the halftime lead to 69-41.
The situation worsened in the second half.
Indiana was leading 101-63 after the third quarter, and both teams kept their main players out for the entire fourth quarter due to the large difference. This was the third time this season that Indiana has led by at least 43 points, and the first time New York has trailed by that much since Dec. 5, 2019, a span of 388 games.
But for the Pacers, this wasn't a time for celebration; it's just a step in their journey that they aim to continue when they play in New York again.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said they did what they needed to do by defending their home court. He didn't want to boast about how great the team is because they are only halfway to their goal. He emphasized the need for humility and readiness for the upcoming challenges.
