The Indiana Pacers are headed home, halfway to a chance to play for an elusive NBA title.
They might prefer to stay right where they are.
Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points, and the Pacers beat the New York Knicks 114-109 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Photo: AP
Game 3 is later tonight in Indiana, which is rocking all day long with the Indianapolis 500 also running this afternoon. The Pacers can only hope to be as good there as they have been on the road, where they have won six straight games since falling at Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round.
“We have a long way to go and it’s only going to get tougher for us,” Siakam said.
Myles Turner added 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who lost to the Lakers in 2000 in their only NBA Finals appearance.
Siakam finished 15 for 23 from the field on a night nobody else on the high-scoring Pacers had more than five baskets.
“Special game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “In the first half he was the guy that got us going and got us through some difficult stretches.”
Jalen Brunson had 36 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who need a quick turnaround or their first appearance in the conference finals in 25 years would be brief. They defended much better after their crushing collapse in a 138-135 overtime loss in Game 1, but could not find enough scoring to come back after a bad fourth quarter start.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, but Towns played just 28 minutes, as coach Tom Thibodeau went longer with backup Mitchell Robinson, a much better defender who grabbed nine rebounds.
No team has lost the first two games at home and come back to win a series in the conference finals.
“Going into the fourth quarter it’s a tie ballgame. We’ve just got to make better plays, more winning plays,” Thibodeau said.
It was tied at 81 after three, before the Pacers opened the fourth with a 13-4 run to move ahead 94-85 on Siakam’s three-pointer with 9 minutes, 17 seconds remaining. They would quickly push the margin back every time the Knicks got any momentum, and it was 110-100 after another basket by Siakam with 2 minutes, 45 seconds to play.
The Knicks scored nine straight to make it 110-109 on Josh Hart’s basket with 14 seconds to go. Aaron Nesmith made two free throws for the Pacers, Brunson was well off on a three-point attempt and Turner finished it out with two free throws.
The 50th playoff meeting between the rivals — the Pacers lead 28-22, all since 1993 — more closely resembled their defensive battles of the 1990s than the shootout of two nights earlier.
Indiana raced to a 19-9 lead, but the Knicks quickly caught them when Robinson and Deuce McBride entered and the game remained within a single-digit margin nearly the entire rest of the night.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
Logan O’Hoppe, Taylor Ward and Matthew Lugo homered, and the Los Angeles Angels spoiled Clayton Kershaw’s season debut, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Saturday night to take the first two games of the three-game series. Kershaw allowed three runs and threw 38 pitches in the first inning. The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner lasted four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Shoulder, toe and knee injuries limited Kershaw to seven games last season, and his 2025 debut was delayed as he recovered from multiple offseason surgeries. O’Hoppe had two hits with
RSS