Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points as the Indiana Pacers breezed to a 121-89 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday in Indianapolis to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two wins apiece.
The sixth-seeded Pacers rode a sizzling start en route to recording their second straight victory overall and 10th in a row at home dating back to the regular season. Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday in New York.
Indiana’s T.J. McConnell collected 15 points and 10 assists, former Knicks draft pick Obi Toppin and Pascal Siakam each had 14 points and Myles Turner added 13. The Pacers led by as many as 23 points in the first quarter and 30 toward the end of the second.
Indiana shot a robust 56.8 percent from the floor (50 of 88) and 45.2 percent from 3-point range (14 of 31) while holding a 60-40 edge in points in the paint. Second-seeded New York, in turn, made just 7 of 37 attempts from beyond the arc (18.9 percent).
Alec Burks scored 20 points off the bench and Jalen Brunson added 18 while sitting out the fourth quarter. Miles McBride had 16 points for the undermanned Knicks, who played their second straight game without OG Anunoby (hamstring).
Donte DiVincenzo drained a 3-pointer to shave Indiana’s lead to 24-11 late in the first quarter before the Pacers answered with 10 straight points. Toppin had a hand in all 10, as he made a short jumper, set up rookie Ben Sheppard’s 3-pointer, connected from beyond the arc himself and converted McConnell’s alley-oop to give Indiana a 34-11 lead.
The Pacers didn’t let their foot off the gas in the second quarter. They pushed their advantage to 30 points at 69-39 when Haliburton drained a stepback 3-pointer before Burks made a pair of free throws just before halftime.
Indiana scored 13 of the first 19 points of the third quarter. The Pacers’ lead did not shrink below 28 points the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
