Andrew Nembhard played football all night against Jalen Brunson. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.
Rick Carlisle‘s Indiana Pacers played a physical, intense defense throughout to thwart the Knicks and then rolled in the 4th quarter to a runway 125-108 win — taking the Eastern Conference Finals with a game 6 win in Indiana on a Saturday night.
The Knicks were down 9 points at the start of the 4th after an OG Anunoby bucket, but Indiana intensified their defense to NFL football level, and put the Knicks on their heels. The refs “let ’em play” as Jalen Brunson was tackled time and time again at halfcourt by a double-team blitz of Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard or Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers scored 30 points in the game off 15 Knick turnovers; the Knicks scored 6 points off 8 Pacer turnovers.
As the Knicks fell behind in the 4th, they took chances on offense, which resulted in more Indiana easy buckets the other way. Obi Toppin was slam dunking, and Tyrese Haliburton was hitting floater after floater in the lane as Indiana cemented the victory.
The playoff MVP was Pascal Siakam, who turned in another great game with 31 pts on 10-18 shooting and defended Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint well — although again KAT was getting HAMMERED all night inside but the refs “let ’em play.”
On another night in another NBA — like last year — Brunson and KAT deserved to get 30 free throws each.
But not to take away from Indiana, which plays a relentless 3-and-D game under Carlisle. They are the Eastern Conference champs and take on Oklahoma City for the NBA title.
“I’m proud of what these guys did,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “There was a lot that we had to get through. I thought we handled that part well. Mitch being out for a big chunk of the season; we got that prognosis late, so we had to adjust. And then we made the trade with KAT and got him in. And then Precious was hurt at the beginning and Landry was hurt at the beginning, so we had to get through that. And then we had to handle Jalen going out at the end of the season. So there was a lot of moving parts, but they kept fighting and moving forward, and I have great respect for that.”
“And to play the way we did in the playoffs, continued Thibs. “The playoffs are hard fought; these games can go either way and oftentimes they’re 1-possession games. So there’s the importance of fighting to win every possession; to do all you can each and every day to prepare yourself for these situations.”
“So there’s the disappointment of falling short of the ultimate goal, but also proud of what we were able to accomplish because we still had to win games with guys being out.”
1. Knicks and Pacers Fought Evenly in 1st Half
The two teams fought evenly in the 1st half — Indiana had a 25-24 lead after 1, and a 4-pt lead at 58-54 at the half.
A THRILLING FIRST HALF ENDS ON ANOTHER WILD SEQUENCE!!
Siakam fastbreak layup.
OG buzzer-beating middy.
Pacers up 4 at the break in Game 6 on TNT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qneTFRO1D3
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025
2. Mitch Robinson Owned the Offensive Glass
Mitchell Robinson was OWNING the offensive boards for NY, setting the Knicks up for multiple second opportunities.
Robinson grabbed 5 offensive rebounds in the 1st quarter, and had a block, a steal, and 2 dunks inside — one an alley oop off a Bridges pass and the other an alley oop off a Landry Shamet pass.
MITCHELL ROBINSON = BEAST ON THE BOARDS 💪
He has 5 offensive rebounds already on TNT! pic.twitter.com/jFLZnhdtyf
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025
Robinson didn’t do much in the 2nd quarter — 1 defensive rebound — but again helped the Knicks big-time in the 3rd quarter, with another alley-oop slam, a block of a Pascal Siakam drive, and a defensive rebound to help NY fight off an Indiana run.
But Robinson only played just over a minute in the 4th, entering with 5 minutes left and NY down 14, and being subbed for KAT with 4 minutes left as NY desperately tried to score points and come back from a deficit.
Robinson finished with 8 pts on 4-5 shooting with 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 30 minutes.
3. Wright Neutralized McConnell
Thibs again used Delon Wright as a TJ McConnell neutralizer. McConnell had been a thorn in the Knicks side in last year’s Indiana-NY playoff series, and in this one until Thibs found Delon as the magic neutralizer.
As soon as McConnell was put in the game, on every occasion, Delon Wright was put in to counter him, and it worked. McConnell had 3 pts on 1-4 shooting in 14 minutes with 2 turnovers and a -4.
4. Siakam Leads Indiana to 12-Pt Lead Early in 3rd
Pascal Siakam was a pill for NY to handle in the series. He hit a 3 to start the 3rd, then scored on a drive-and-1 after an Aaron Nesmith 3 and Indy had 9 straight points to start the period, taking a 13-pt lead at 67-54.
THE INDIANA PACERS, INSANE SEQUENCE ‼️
Thomas Bryant block.
Pascal Siakam circus and-1.
INDY’S on an 8-0 RUN to start the 3Q of Game 6 on TNT 👀 pic.twitter.com/pVDIlqd2rU
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025
As NBA Analyst Ross Kreines noted, “Tweeted this on Pascal Siakam some time ago. Pascal truly understands on how to mix it up by not just settling but rather with dribble drives working in high or low post,getting out in the transition game along with drawing contact which all keep his defender at his mercy.”
5. Knicks Whittle 15-Pt Deficit to 7 Late in 3rd
A Thomas Bryant 3 put Indiana up 15 with 5:44 left in the quarter and things were looking bad for NY.
But the Knicks would not quit. An OG 3, Bridges deuce, and KAT bucket inside pulled NY within 8.
NEW YORK RESPONDS.
KAT’S SLAM BRINGS THE LEAD DOWN TO 8 ‼️ pic.twitter.com/ixlclHyhyS
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025
KAT was fouled next time down but only made 1 of 2 free throws to pull NY within 7.
But Indiana went on another 9-0 run — a Nesmith dunk, Thomas Bryant free throws, a McConnell 3, and a Siakam jumper — to go up 87-71 with 2:55 left in the quarter.
The Knicks still came back — and a McBride 3 from the corner pulled them to within 9 with 55 seconds left in the 3rd.
But the refs ruled McBride stepped out of bounds before shooting the 3 — and took the 3 back. Replays showed McBride did NOT step out of bounds. The Knicks got screwed.
Deuce McBride simply was not out of bounds here. This 3-pointer went in. pic.twitter.com/2MyigMIB1p
— Steven Cheah (@StevenCheah) June 1, 2025
McBride stole the ball at the end of the quarter and fed Josh Hart ahead of the field, but Hart missed the layup against intense Indiana pressure.
Josh Hart has had better games — he messed up another breakaway layup at the beginning of the 4th — but at the same time was causing some turnovers for Indiana and grabbing some offensive rebounds.
6. OG with a Huge Night for NY
Indiana took a 15-pt lead into the 4th, at 93-77, when the Knicks pushed back — KAT with a drive inside, and OG with consecutive buckets — a dunk and a drive off a Josh Hart steal — to pull NY within 9 at 92-83 with 10 minutes left.
OG starred for the Knicks all night — taking it to the hoop or hitting 3’s. He finished with 24 pts on 10-18 shooting (2-7 from 3) with 2 blocks and 2 steals.
OG Anunoby on a personal 6-0 run 👀🔥
Knicks/Pacers trading buckets in the 2Q on TNT! pic.twitter.com/CTy6Rm1ZXh
— NBA (@NBA) June 1, 2025
7. Knicks Down 9 Early in 4th When Indy Intensifies D
But Indiana intensified their D even more — blitzing Brunson at half court as he brought the ball up. It became a football game with the refs “letting ’em play”.
Indiana maintained a 12- to 14-pt lead as Brunson broke free of the physical D for buckets inside a couple of times, but Haliburton and Toppin scored on the other end as the Knicks did not get back on D.
Haliburton kept driving for floaters as Indiana started to race away with the win.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401772994