INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers will try to take advantage of a second chance to eliminate the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals at home on Saturday night.
Indiana is looking to make the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history and the first in 25 years. The Pacers lead the series 3-2 after losing Game 5 to the Knicks 111-94 on Thursday.
Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern and will be televised on TNT, and a Pacers win would mark the final chapter in the network’s long history of broadcasting NBA games. TNT will not carry games next season.
A Knicks win would send the series back to New York on Monday night for Game 7.
The series winner will open the the finals on Thursday at Oklahoma City.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is 11-2 all-time in playoff home games. He had a historic stat line in his most recent contest at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, finishing with 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals and no turnovers Tuesday.
The two-time All-Star became the first player to record at least 30 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds and have no turnovers in a playoff game since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78. And he did it in front of his father, John, who had an eight-game ban lifted following his on-court confrontation with Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo when his son’s last-second layup eliminated the Bucks in their first-round series.
New York lost the first two games of this series at home but has rebounded to win two of the last three since inserting Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup. Coach Tom Thibodeau expanded New York’s rotation and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns started driving to the basket more frequently.
Anthony-Towns has averaged 24 points and 13.3 rebounds in the last three games while All-Star guard Jalen Brunson has averaged 28.7 points over that span. Brunson also has topped the 30-point mark in each of the last two to extend the Knicks’ postseason record for most 30-point games in franchise history with 21.
New York is trying to become the 14th team in league history to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. It hasn’t reached the finals since 1999 and hasn’t won a title since 1973.
The road team won each of the first three games in this series while the home team has prevailed in each of the last two.
