June 1, 2025
Pacers defeated the New York Knicks in Game 6, ending the Knicks’ magical postseason run.
On May 31, the Indiana Pacers responded to one of their most lackluster performances of the playoffs in Game 5 like the Eastern Conference champs many predicted they would be after their series with the New York Knicks tipped off, while the Knicks, who enjoyed their best finish in 25 years, largely searched for answers in the second half that never came.
En route to a 125-108 victory, the Pacers were buoyed by the play of former Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam and former Sacramento Kings point guard Tyrese Halliburton, who has now etched himself into the annals of Knicks foils like Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan. Siakam recorded 31 points and five rebounds, while Halliburton notched a double-double, putting up 21 points and 13 assists, scoring half of those points in the fourth quarter.
As The Athletic reported, Pacers guard Benedict Mathurin diagnosed their failure to launch in Game 5 as the team not playing Indiana Pacers basketball and remained confident that the next game, Game 6, would go much differently.
“We just weren’t us,” Mathurin told the outlet. “We weren’t the Pacers. We didn’t play with force. We weren’t relentless. I think that’s the one thing that we were missing tonight. And I think that we got to step it up for next game, because it’s Game 6, and we got to close it.”
In the pivotal Game 6, when the Pacers came out of the halftime break looking to pressure the Knicks who had kept the game close up to that point, they showed why the old idiom that pressure busts pipes always pops up in the playoffs.
In the third quarter, the Pacers picked up their intensity, pressuring the Knicks into 18 turnovers, scoring 34 points off of their miscues and scoring 25 points in transition.
Siakam would edge out Halliburton, his teammate, by one vote, earning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, but urged fans of the team to remember that a formidable Oklahoma City Thunder squad, led by the league’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is waiting for them on June 5.
“Enjoy tonight and after that look forward,” Siakam said, who was also a key part of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship team. “We have a team out there waiting for us that’s serious. They’re the best team in the NBA.”
With the win, the Pacers advance to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, and their second appearance in team history, they would go on to lose their only other appearance in the NBA Finals to the dynastic Los Angeles Lakers who secured a three-peat with their win in the series.
For the Knicks, the bittersweet end to their best playoff performance in 25 years and Jalen Brunson’s sparkling playoff run will inevitably be met with questions, which Brunson, to his credit, faced head-on post-game.
At points during the postseason, the Knicks looked like a team of destiny, at others, they looked hopeless, they will have to recalibrate and figure out who they are as a team during the long summer off-season if they want to reach the next level.
“It’s definitely tough to look ahead,” Brunson told The Athletic. “Even when you win, it’s always about what’s next. Regardless, we’re going to go in the summer and work. We’re going to get better and figure out how we can change this outcome.”
He continued, “It’s going to start with us and our mentality, making sure we take it one day at a time. We can’t just jump back into the conference finals. We can’t look ahead. I got a lot of faith in this group. No one sees what me and (Towns) see every day, the type of people that we have, the workers that we have. That’s what gives me the confidence.”
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