Another try to send ’em home
Pacers and Knicks can set second-round matchup with Game 6 victories
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks understand the stakes.
Second chances are rare in the NBA playoffs, and if these franchises intend to change their recent post-season histories neither can afford to blow another opportunity in an Eastern Conference elimination game on Thursday night.
Both teams lead three games to two in their best-of-seven series and must make quick adjustments to rebound from Game 5 losses.
“We got a little stagnant, holding the ball and playing a little slower,” Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton said following Tuesday night’s 11592 loss at Milwaukee. “When teams switch, it can kind of lull you into that. We’ve got to be better there. I’ll be better there. Hell of an opportunity the next game back at home.”
Indiana hasn’t been to the Eastern semifinals since beating Atlanta in 2014, but these Pacers have been defying trend lines all season.
The NBA’s highest-scoring team made the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and snapped a franchise-worst 10-game post-season losing streak last week. Indiana is seeking to go 3-0 at home in a playoff series for the first time since the first round against Atlanta in 2013.
If the Pacers advance, they’ll face the Philadelphia-New York winner.
“We’ve just got to get better, go back — we are home — and get a win,” said forward Pascal Siakam, who was a key part of the champion Raptors team in 2019. “Obviously being at home, the crowd, it’s on us to just bring our energy and compete at the highest level.”
The severely short-handed Bucks took advantage of home-crowd energy Tuesday.
Bobby Portis Jr. rebounded from an early ejection in Game 4 to score a playoff career-high 29 points in a season-saving win. He said the derogatory chants from Pacers fans will fuel him in Game 6.
The bigger question is whether two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo or eight-time all-star Damian Lillard will return Thursday. Antetokounmpo has not played since straining his left calf on April 9 and only resumed workouts this week. Lillard missed the last two games with an injury to his right Achilles tendon.
Coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday night he thought both were “very, very, very close” to making it back on the court with the possibility of a second straight first-round exit looming.
“This team, they’re giving it to me. They’re doing everything, they really are,” Rivers said. “They’re playing together. They know we’re down men. They know they have to do it together. No one’s trying to be the hero. From a coach’s perspective, they’ve been amazing.”
For the Knicks, who visit Philadelphia for Game 6 following a wild 112-106 overtime loss at home, their past post-season results haven’t been much better than the Pacers.
While New York advanced to the second round last year for the first time since 2013, it was only the second time they’d gone that far since Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing left town following a 4-2 series loss in the 2000 Eastern Conference final — to the Pacers. That also was the last time the Knicks made it past the first round in consecutive years, a drought that could end Thursday night.
“That’s all it really comes down to: a mistake here or there, a missed shot here or there, a missed free throw here or there,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re sharp mentally, and I think we’ll prepare and go out there and execute.”