IINDIANAPOLIS (AP) – After three tightly contested games, the Indiana Pacers took an early lead in Game 4. The New York Knicks, lacking depth, couldn’t match the pace. Tyrese Haliburton led with 20 points, while T.J. McConnell contributed 15 points and 10 assists as the Pacers dominated the Knicks 121-89. This marked the franchise’s third-largest playoff win and leveled the series at 2-2. Game 5 is set for Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
“All we did was do our job,” Haliburton said after finishing with 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 all came down to key plays in the final three minutes.
Sunday’s game took an unexpected turn. Indiana led by as much as 43 points—the largest deficit any team has faced in these playoffs—and nearly matched its two biggest NBA postseason wins: a 34-point rout of Cleveland in April 2018 and a 33-point triumph over the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.
While Indiana seemed to do everything right, the Knicks struggled throughout the game.
Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin each contributed 14 points, Aaron Nesmith secured 12 rebounds, and the Pacers shot 56.8% from the field and 45.2% from beyond the arc, overcoming their only deficit of the game, 2-0, within the first 44 seconds.
The Knicks, missing four key players due to injuries, appeared weary.
Alec Burks contributed 20 points for New York, while Brunson, leading the league with an average of 34.6 points per game in the postseason, managed only 18. On a day when the Knicks shot 33.7% from the field and 18.9% from beyond the arc, they nearly set a record for the worst playoff defeat in their history, a record set in April 1991 with a 41-point loss at Chicago.
Brunson was not alone in his struggles; Donte DiVincenzo, who scored 35 points in Game 3, was held to just seven on Sunday. Together, the two guards shot a combined 9 of 30 from the field and 1 of 11 from three-point range.
Brunson dismissed any excuses for the performance, stating, “We can talk about needing fresher legs and you can offer all the pity you want. Yes, we’re short-handed, but that’s irrelevant at the moment. We have our roster, and there are no excuses. A loss is a loss, and that’s simply the reality of it.”
The Pacers, once more, thrived on the vibrant atmosphere of the nearly packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, boasting a 5-0 record there with Game 6 set to return to Indianapolis on Friday. Notable spectators courtside included Indiana’s own John Mellencamp, Indianapolis 500 champions Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, along with former Pacers icons Dale Davis and Derrick McKey.
The series witnessed its most dominant performance yet.
Deprived of forwards OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic, Julius Randle, and center Mitchell Robinson, New York managed only a 14-point first quarter and a 41-point first half—their lowest in the first 10 playoff games of the season.
The outcome was as expected.
“We began at a slow pace, they scored, established a substantial lead, and it escalated from there,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau remarked. “I believe we missed some open shots early on that could have drained our energy, and that’s something we cannot afford.”
The Pacers avoided this pitfall.
Haliburton’s initial three-pointer secured Indiana’s lead at 5-2, followed by a decisive 29-7 run in the first quarter, bringing the score to 34-11.
The Knicks couldn’t make a comeback. They narrowed the gap to 36-19 early in the second quarter, but Indiana responded with 10 consecutive points, widening the lead to 69-41 by halftime.
The situation deteriorated further in the second half.
India was ahead 101-63 after three quarters, a gap so significant that both teams benched their starters for the entire fourth quarter. Indiana’s 43-point advantage in the fourth quarter was the third instance this season of them leading by such a margin, and it was the first time New York had faced such a deficit since December 5, 2019, over a stretch of 388 games.
However, for the Pacers, this wasn’t an occasion for celebration but merely a step in a journey they aim to pursue upon their return to New York.
“We accomplished what was necessary, which was to defend our home court,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “I won’t delve into how excellent we are as a team because we are only halfway to our objective. We must recognize that and maintain a profound sense of humility about what’s to come on Tuesday, preparing ourselves accordingly.”
