Indiana Pacers Use Historic Shooting Game To Oust Knicks

The deck was certainly stacked against the Indiana Pacers in some ways heading into Game 7 against the New York Knicks. Not only are home teams successful in Game 7 situations, but the Pacers have had virtually zero success away from home this postseason.

None of that mattered as the Indiana Pacers took advantage of a short-handed Knicks team and ran them out of Madison Square Garden. New York, scrappy and fighting to the last whistle, needed help to keep up with the offensive excellence of Indiana.

The Pacers were going to need a special performance to defeat the Knicks and that is what they got. On Sunday afternoon, they had not only the best Game 7 shooting performance ever but the best offensive game in NBA Playoff history.

Indiana got off to a blazing hot start, as they shot 76.3 percent from the field in the first half. A normally stout New York Knicks defense wasn’t as tenacious without a healthy OG Anunoby in the mix.

Anunoby returned early from his hamstring injury, giving the team and crowd a boost. He made two jump shots right out of the gate, but it was clear he wasn’t right. Anunoby could barely run and the Indiana Pacers took full advantage.

“I was going to test him,” Pascal Siakam said of his former Toronto Raptors teammate. “I thought he didn’t look healthy out there. … I just wanted to make sure he was OK, but it was a Game 7.”

The limited Anunoby provided the Pacers a chance to get into rhythm early and they took full advantage. They didn’t stop from that point on, as a colder second half still resulted in the team setting a record, making 67.1 percent of their shots overall.

The Knicks did make a push early in the third quarter, cutting what was 22 points down to seven. But, their run was stymied by T.J. McConnell, who New York had no answer for coming off the bench.

The Indiana Pacers have been presented with some major breaks given the injuries their opponents have suffered. But, you still need to go out and win games. NBA Playoff series aren’t won on paper and they have taken full advantage, defeating the Nos. 3 and 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference and advancing to take on the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics.