On May 18, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and in the Eastern Division semifinals, the Pacers hosted the Knicks. In the previously concluded series, the Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers 4-1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the sixth time in 8 years; The Mavericks led the Thunder 3-2 to get the match point, and the Timberwolves and Nuggets fought a tiebreaker to tie seven. The Knicks previously led the Pacers 3-2, this group of matchups was the most tragic, on the Knicks' side, in the regular season, Randle and Bogda were reimbursed for the season, Brunson led the team to eliminate the 76ers in the first round, and Anunoby, the core of the forward in the second round, suffered a hamstring injury, and Brunson himself suffered a foot injury and insisted on the injury. Coach Thibodeau didn't believe in substitutions, but in the end the main team basically fell. And before the game, Charania confirmed that the Knicks also hope to keep Thibodeau for a long time, and the next contract will reach the level of 10 million!
Hart, another forward on the team, has played more than 40 minutes in nine of the last 11 games, including G2 and G5 against the 76ers, and G1 and G2 against the Pacers, all of whom were in full attendance and did not take a single second off! On the Pacers' side, this season's playoffs are 5-0 at home and 1-5 on the road, and the team continues its regular season in the playoffs, with an offensive efficiency of 119.2+ and an average of 112.6 points + 29.4 assists per game, both of which are the first in the league! But the team's defense is really not good. However, compared to the Knicks, the Pacers scored more points off the bench, and Turner was also very efficient. The biggest hidden danger of the Pacers is the lack of internal confrontation, Turner and Sika are relatively soft, and coach Carlisle said bluntly before the game that he must play hard, grab rebounds, and do not accept to be out at home!
Knicks starters: Brunson + McBride + DiVincenzo + Hart + Harden; Pacers starters: Haliburton + Nembhard + Nesmith + Sika + Turner. Haliburton hit a three-pointer at the beginning, Nembhard glided on a rebound, Brunson responded with consecutive singles jumpers, and McBride opened up a three-point touch early. In the middle section, Turner's tomahawk split, Hart was injured in the lower abdomen and was pushed! But McBride scored eight straight points on an inside and outside shot, and DiVincenzo also hit a three-pointer. In the second half, Toppin and Sika frantically chased points, and Brunson made one of two free throws to give the Knicks a 30-29 lead over the Pacers in the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, Brunson continued to play iron, McConnell and Toppin quickly overtook the score, and after McBride responded, Haliburton and Hart hit three-pointers, and Sika continued to train Hart. In the second half, Turner's three-pointer broke the balance!
Immediately followed by Turner's killing + tomahawk dunk, Sika attacked, and Smith made a tough rebound at the end of the quarter! The Pacers went on a 17-2 run and DiVincenzo made a three-pointer to stop the bleeding! Brunson hit 11 consecutive iron shots, setting a new career record, and the Pacers led the Knicks 61-51 at halftime! DiVincenzo and McBride both had 15 points, Sika had 15 and Turner had 11. At the start of the second half, Brunson finally scored a layup, Haliburton and Nembhard rained three-pointers, and Turner flew to make up for the dunk, and the difference was getting bigger and bigger. After McBride's three-pointer stopped the bleeding in the middle section, Haliburton turned over and made a jumper, Sika threw a shot and hit the whistle, and the camera was given to Hart on the bench, holding his stomach and looking in pain! In the second half, McConnell of the Pacers led the team to continue to expand the point difference, and the Knicks were dumb for a long time, but fortunately, Brunson scored 5 points in a row at the end of the quarter to stop the bleeding!
At the end of the third quarter, the Pacers led the Knicks 88-75. Brunson was indeed too tired, and many of his shots were noticeably deformed. In the fourth quarter of the decisive battle, McConnell and Sika led the team to open a 17-point difference, and after Brunson stopped the bleeding, Nembhard hit another three-pointer to make the difference to 20 points! Hart finally couldn't hold on anymore and walked back to the locker room with his towel covered. Shepard also continued to shoot a three-pointer in the middle of the game, and the game was completely out of suspense, and finally the Pacers defeated the Knicks 116-103 at home, and the two sides decided to tie seven!
Knicks statistics, Brunson 31 points and 5 assists, McBride 20 points and 2 rebounds, DiVincenzo 17 points and 4 rebounds, Hart 5 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, Harden 4 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Achiuwa 12 points and 8 rebounds. Pacers statistics, Haliburton 15 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, Nembhard 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Sika 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Turner 17 points and 8 rebounds, Toppin 11 points and 4 rebounds, McConnell 15 points and 4 assists.
Throughout the game, the Knicks really couldn't hold on, and they were called the worst team in the playoffs, and there was really no one available. In non-garbage time, he lost 13 rebounds, and Iron Man Hart couldn't bear it, so you can imagine the physical state of other players. Thibodeau's way of employing people, it is already a miracle that the playoffs can reach the second round of the division to grab seven, even if the Knicks really reach the Eastern Conference finals, they will have no power to fight back against the Celtics. It can only be said that the Pacers are lucky to have not encountered too many obstacles along the way, and the battle between the two teams will start at 3:30 a.m. on May 20 (next Monday), and the Knicks players only have 40 hours to rest!