NBA Playoff Reaction 🍿 Pacers punch Finals berth with Game 6 win vs. Knicks | SportsCenter

NBA Playoff Reaction 🍿 Pacers punch Finals berth with Game 6 win vs. Knicks | SportsCenter

Knicks Pacers game six. Pacers looking to close out the series and head to the NBA finals. Knicks trying to force a game seven. Early first quarter, tied up at four. Miles Bridges driving. Mitchell Robinson throwing it down. Knicks up two early and then trailing by three. Jaylen Brunson, you know, you got to watch out for this bad man. Look at this pull up from long range. Boom. Game tied at 20. Under two to play in the first. Pacers up one. Tyrese Hallebertton. Obie Toppin. The former Nick getting it done. Flashy pass right there by Howie. Pacers up one after one. Second quarter. Four minutes to play. Gruntson looking to make a move. Turns it over and they’re going the other way. Andrew Neard to Hallebertton throwing it down. All fired up there. Pacers up five. Then Knicks trailing by five. Brunson driving, kicking out to Bridges. Baseline jumper. Good. Nick’s looking good, right? Hey, get back on D. Going the other way. Hallebert and Pascal Seakum throwing it down. Paces put it back at a five-point game. Later, Brunson up to OG. What’s up, OG? Pull up jumper. Good at the buzzer. Knicks down four heading into halftime. This one was close and then the third quarter happened and the Pacers got on a roll. Pascal Syakam for three. Pacers up seven. Couple minutes later, they’re up 10. Anobi driving. Look at Thomas Bryant with the block. And then the other way. Seakum gets it. Drive. Got it. Plus the foul. Indiana up 13 after the free throw. They went on a 9 run to open the third. Later in the quarter, Thomas Bryant getting it done from three. Had 11 off the bench. And the Pacers are up 15. Pacers up 14. Seakum. What a night he had. Look at this. Driving, moving, grooving, shooting. Got it. Fade away. Good. Yeah, keep it going. Pacers up 16. Final seconds of the third. Josh Hart to Carl. Anthony Towns can’t connect. Pacers going to get it. Going the other way. Hallebertton taking it for himself. Pacers end the third quarter up 9277. But you know these Knicks, it’s hard to take them out. Brunson here, stolen by Nebart. And Nebart taking it way for the bucket. And Brunson right here. And oh, a little headbutt action there. It’s getting dicey. You see the move there. Pacers were up 14. Brunson didn’t quite have the night you expect him to. 19 points but not enough cuz Hallebertton got 21 and 13. Drive and the laying to go there. Pacers up 16. And then Harley sealing the deal. Deep three. Hallebertton fired up. Pacers get the win 125 108. They’re moving on to the NBA Finals. Pascal Seakum NBA Eastern Conference Finals MVP Nick Drad. And look at them hoist that trophy. So, the Pacers will now move on to the NBA finals for just the second time in franchise history, joining the 1990 2000 season, where they would go on to lose to Shaq and Kobe and the Lakers in six games. Now, the Patriots advanced to the finals in a similar fashion as their first appearance, both this season and in 2000. Indiana knocked out New York in the conference finals in exactly six games. This time around, they’re going to celebrate clinching the win at home. And as for the Knicks, this ends what was the most successful playoff run for them over the last 25 years. Overall, nine playoff series. New York and Indiana have faced off. New York is now 3 and6 overall. Miles, first of all, congratulations. And look, 25 years since the Pacers made the NBA finals. You’ve been a Pacer longer than any of your teammates, 10 seasons. You’ve seen all the highs, you’ve seen all the lows. What does this moment mean for you, man? It’s everything. First of all, I got to thank Jehovah God, man. Just put me this opportunity or give me this opportunity and it’s uh allowing us to run with it. But um you said it, man. I’ve been here through all the highs, all the lows, the hate, the love, everything in between. Man, it’s just so validating just to even get an opportunity to be on this stage. Hey, look, man. I’m watching this game. This is a four-point game at halftime. I have to say, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Then you came out on a 9-0 run and the Pacers never really looked back. What did you all say or communicate to each other at halftime that sparked a second half that just changed everything? We just knew it was going to take everybody, man. We’re such a deep team. Uh you never know whose night it’s going to be and u we had so many guys step up on the bench tonight, man. Thomas Bryant played out of his mind and um you know, Pascal obviously did his thing and Tyrese led the charge. So I can go up and down the list, man. This has been how it’s been all playoffs for us. You know, 1 through 15 is what it’s about. Miles, what do you bring when you since you’ve been with the team so long, what presence are you in that locker room? You got younger guys with you. you guys, guys who’ve never been at this point, but you’ve you’ve seen everything with this organization. What do you bring at a moment like that to say, “Hey guys, we got to all hang together and push us over the top.” Of course, man. Just keep the main thing the main thing, you know, whether you’re down by 10 or up by 10. You, you know, you play, you got to play like you’re down the entire time. And uh we knew a team with the New York Knicks, you know, they had a hell of a season. They’re a team that fights and you know, just and um had the most what 20 point comeback. So, you know, we were really aware of that. But, you know, when it comes all said and done, you know, we trained for this. Um, this group has been together for about 3 years now, and we’ve been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time. So, it just all goes back to our training. You’ve been together 3 years. We’ve seen all that you can do in the playoffs, but after you guys beat the Cavs, you tweeted out every analyst at our network that had the Cavs beating you guys in their series, right? Vegas had the Knicks beating you guys. Why do you think we all doubt Indie so much? Man, it’s a question since the beginning of time, man. you know, ever since I’ve been here, uh, it’s funny, you know, when you go online, a lot of times, a lot of time, uh, people seen us play for the first time, this, you know, this, this playoff series. And, um, that’s how it is here. We don’t get a lot of TV games. Um, people don’t really pay attention to us until we make them pay attention. But we thrive with that. You know, we, uh, we understand that. Not the sexiest team, but, you know, we get results. You sure do. And now you’re getting ready to face OKC. Overwhelming favorites to win the title at minus 600 earlier today. Listen to this, Miles. They’re the only other team over the last 20 seasons that have or you’re the only other team over the last 20 seasons that have longer odds to win it all. To all those Pacers non-believers out there, tell the world why you will win it all. Well, first of all, I don’t know what – 600 minus whatever. I don’t know what that none of that means, but I do know that the Pacers how we compete and how we fight, man. And um again, we’re built for this moment, man. We’ve been training for this. Got one of the best head coaches in the game and um one of the best rosters in the game. So, we’re excited for the opportunity, man. and uh we’re going to throw it up there and see what happens. Okay, one more question for you. I’ll let you go, man. Why should I be drinking okchra water with lemon and chia seeds? Oh yeah, for sure man. Amazing benefits. First of all, for your skin, you know, your complexion is going to get you right. Um it also resets your system, too. If it’s the first thing you put in your stomach at the beginning of the day, it’s good for your gut health. It’s uh good for, you know, type of movement and whatnot. And then, um lastly, hair, skin, and nails, man. You know, you got to take care about little things. Be nice not pretty for the cameras. But Miles, I don’t want to hear about movement, man. How does that taste, man? It’s like chalky. I I don’t even know how to digest that. No, no, no, no, no. Straight water. I promise you it’s water. You know, put a little lemon in there. I promise you it tastes like water. It got the texture aloe vera though. So, you a texture person, you know. You know, I don’t know. Dilute a little bit. I know you live in the moment and look ahead, but history’s important too. And to do it almost 25 years to the day than the last time. Same team, Reggie, Jaylen in the building on the home court. How much special even more special does that make it? Yeah. Um, obviously Reggie in the building, uh, it is a really special thing. Um, when it happened 25 years ago, I was not even 6 months old. Uh, so, you know, I I think this is a really special time for our organization, special time for our fans. You know, there’s a lot of fans who, you know, have never seen the success from this organization. You know, especially people around my age. You know, they weren’t alive for it. So, um, you know, it’s really special what we’re doing and, uh, we’re just trying to keep making this a special place, a place where people want to, you know, come and people, uh, want to watch and want to be a part of. And, um, you know, this is a really, really special group. And I’m really thankful that I’m doing it with these guys. I’m thankful that our front office believed in this group, uh, to keep us together, to not do a crazy roster turnover, um, to keep this group together and, you know, see something in ourselves that maybe quote unquote experts didn’t see. Um, so yeah, it’s it’s really special, but you know, we understand we got a long road ahead. Um, but yeah, like I said, it’s just a special feeling. In tonight’s game, Obby topping off the bench and I had three blocks, 18 points. What’ you think of his play and how impactful were those big plays that he had? He had three blocks. Wow. Yeah. Trying to get like me. Uh, I we always mess with him because, you know, he’s got all that athleticism but just doesn’t use it on the defensive end sometimes. Uh but no, Obie was big for us off the bench. Um you know, obviously this series playing against his team, there’s probably a little bit more juice for him considering this is where, you know, he came from. Um but man, he was special tonight. Just did all the little things that we need him to do. Made play after play, especially down the stretch, cutting, rolling. Um you know, that’s why we brought him here. So, um really special and we understand, we preach depth this whole year. You know, we keep talking about it and it’s not just some not just a word we use, you know, for fun. you know, this is uh this is our identity and this is who we are. And so I thought we did a great job of utilizing that. We had different people step up. Thought Jarus Walker was amazing. You know, a guy like that, you know, his minutes have come here and there in this series, he hasn’t really seen a ton of playing time. Um and he came and was prepared to go and he had I thought he had big time minutes and Thomas Bryant, you know, he’s had a couple games where he, you know, couple DMPS came prepared and made some big big time shots and big time plays. Uh so that’s just what’s important to us. We’ve been preaching, you know, how special we are as a group and how much depth matters and um we’re showing it. So, like I said, man, it’s just really special. I know we went to six, but I guess can you talk about what it meant to be here in Gamebridge Fieldhouse with Pacers fans celebrating this moment and a moment in history for Pacers. Yeah. Uh I think as a group, you know, we really did want to get it done in the garden last game. Um but I thought we just didn’t come out and play the right way. Uh but I I looked at it as kind of like delayed gratification, you know. Um you look at it and understand we didn’t come to play in game five. I don’t know where Doyle is, but you know, we just didn’t play hard enough, you know, and that that happens. I know that was a question, but we just didn’t didn’t play hard enough. And I thought we did a great job responding. Thought we did a great job of controlling the margins and winning that battle. Um, so like I said, I’m just really proud of uh, you know, of this group and, uh, it is special to do it in front of our fans, in front of our family, um, and enjoy it with them and, uh, yeah, it’s definitely, you know, probably be a core memory in our lives. But I think there’s, uh, you know, a lot more work to do and, you know, let’s just keep creating memories. Dustin, kind of on that note, 10 steals, 18 turnovers, 34 points off turnovers. Just how important was the defense tonight? I guess what does it say I guess for just the progress you guys have made over the course of really the last year and a half to get to this point and it’s it’s defense that kind of gets you in there in the NBA finals. Yeah, I just think the buyin from our whole group has been huge. Um you know last year all that was being said was we couldn’t win because we don’t guard anybody. Um and all we try to do is outscore people and I think we’ve taken such a big step on the defensive end as a group. Um, you know, I think Andrew, Aaron, and Miles kind of lead that, you know, and me and Pete do, you know, you know, trying to follow their lead and get it going on that side of the ball and our bench guys just come in and bring more energy. So, um, you know, I think what the step we’ve made on that side of the floor is is is why we’re here. And, um, you know, we got our work cut out for us, you know, playing against MVP, playing against one of the best offenses in the league, the best team in the league. Um, so we got to be prepared next series, but I just I I think our buyin as a group has been huge and um, you know, I’m just really proud of our group. Yeah, the Pacers shot the lights out from three in game six, shooting 17 of 33 from deep. They’re the third team to shoot 50% or better from three to clench an NBA Finals birth along with the 2021 Suns and the 2016 Cavs. As for the Knicks, another season ends in heartbreak. Here are Jaylen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns. Sucks, man. Simple as that. It sucks. I think the way this team progressed this year is um for me it was fun because there’s a lot of a lot of people saying we couldn’t do a lot of things, a lot of uh a lot of negativity around what we were trying to accomplish and the way we put blinders on and went to work. And um that’s what I’m most proud of with this team. And um that’s yeah, I’m I’m just proud of how we kind of stayed the course. Obviously, like you said, not winning tonight and then being knocked out, but um just proud just proud of our guys. Simple as that. It hurts. It hurts to be able not to uh bring an opportunity to the city for a championship. Um, you know, we got a bunch of great guys in that locker room and um, you know, we hope to uh, the plan now is to just put ourselves in this position again and succeed next time. UD, the P pacers, we got to talk about the third quarter because they just went off it. It took them to the victory tonight. They get the 4-2 series win and advance to the NBA finals. So, what did you see that allowed them to blow this one open? Man, it was just the activity and the pace of the game. They just continued to wear on the Knicks. They had 10 turnovers in the first half. They had 18 for the game. That equal 34 points. So, you already got a team that wants to run, wants to get out in transition. You don’t want to give them easy buckets by turning the ball over. So, they just continue to wear on the Nixon, not just for this game, but over the course of this series. They played with that intensity from the start, but as I mentioned, the third quarter, it really got out of hand quickly and able to hang on from there. But now, they’ve got to look at what happens next. and they roll into the next round as underdogs. That’s a position they’re familiar with. You also won it all twice with the Heat as an underdog. So, what do the Pacers have to do to give themselves a chance against OKC? Now, use that chip on your shoulder. Use that chip. Listen to everybody saying you don’t have a chance. Use everything you have and then go in there and be who you are. You’re not going to get to the finals and reinvent the wheel. You want to run. You want to get out. You want to create confusion. You want to get out in transition. You want to get easy buckets in the half court. You want to play through Hallebert and Seakum. You want to let your role players be stars and you need some guys to step up and have some X factors. Judy, how much does that matter when that outside noise is loud for OKC right now? I don’t think it matters to OKC. If you listen to everything they said after they won their game, they was talking about one more. They were talking about the finals. This is not the goal. This is not where we wanted to get. They were talking about getting to the finals. So, I don’t think OKC is a team that’s going to listen to the noise any at all. They’re focused on one goal, and that’s winning the championship. All right. Pacers going to have their work cut out for them. Thunder beat them both times. They faced each other this season. None bigger than what’s about to come next. UD, we appreciate it. Tonight on Sports Center,

SportsCenter recaps the Indiana Pacers’ Game 6 win over the New York Knicks to win the Eastern Conference Finals and advance to the 2025 NBA Finals where they’ll face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

0:00 Knicks vs. Pacers
3:29 Myles Turner interview
7:09 Tyrese Haliburton news conference
12:15 Jalen Brunson & KAT news conference
13:18 Udonis Haslem reaction

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