On May 15, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and today ushered in the Eastern Conference semifinals Pacers vs. Knicks. As a result, the Knicks defeated the Pacers 121-91 at home, bringing the series to 3-2, and the Knicks got the match point, just one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, there were many controversial images and exaggerated alternative statistics in this game, and the impartiality of the referee was once again questioned. In terms of game statistics, the Knicks had as many as 101 shots, while the Pacers only had 72 shots, a difference of 29 shots, which is really unbelievable, which is why the Pacers ended up losing by 29 points.
At the same time, the Knicks committed 22 fouls and made 19 free throws; The Pacers, on the other hand, committed 19 fouls and made 22 free throws, and it seemed that the Pacers were the first team to profit. However, referee Foster's decision was strongly questioned, because he blew too many technical fouls on the Pacers, which deeply affected the mentality of the Pacers players, so he once topped the hot search list in the United States, and was accused of favoring the home team Knicks.
Match data
Pacers: Siakam 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 Turner 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Haliburton 13 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists, Andrew 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Nesmith 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Toppin 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, McConnell 7 points and 5 assists.
Knicks: Brunson 44 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, Hart 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, Myers 17 points and 4 assists, DiVincenzo 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, Hartenstein 7 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists, Burks 18 points and 5 rebounds.
The course of the game
In the first quarter, Nesmith scored two points easily with a breakaway layup, while Brunson failed to make the first shot, and Siakam followed up with a breakaway score. Not to be outdone, Brunson scored on a jumper to score the first points for the Knicks. The Knicks ended the first quarter with a six-point lead at 38:32. Brunson had a strong first quarter, playing the entire first quarter and scoring 10 points of his own.
Heading into the second quarter, the Knicks continued to extend their lead. Brunson felt hot, and not long after the start of the second quarter, Brunson hit a three-pointer, which completely ignited the enthusiasm of the fans in the court, and then Brunson could easily score whether it was a breakthrough with the ball or a pull-up jump shot. As a result, Brunson scored 18 points in a single quarter, leading the team to a 15-point lead over the Pacers at 69:54 in the first half.
At the beginning of the second half, Turner, the center of the Pacers, stepped up and made consecutive three-pointers to narrow the gap to within 5 points. The Knicks used Harden to defend Turner closely, so the defense never gave Turner any open shots, and at the same time, the Pacers almost broke out into a large-scale clash when DiVincenzo made contact with Turner during a defensive process. In the second half, Brunson again led the team to consecutive scores, and the Knicks once again extended the margin to more than 20 points, and the Pacers trailed by 21 points at 75:96 at the end of the third quarter.
Although the Pacers tried to fight back after that, the steady play of Brunson and his teammates allowed the Pacers to chase the score for a while, and the difference became wider and wider, and finally the Knicks defeated the Pacers 121-91 30 points, leading the series 3-2 and taking the lead to get the first match point.
Starting lineup
Knicks: Brunson, Hart, DiVincenzo, Hartenstein, Myers.
Pacers: Siakam, Haliburton, Turner, Andrew, Nesmith.