Indiana Eliminates New York, Reaches First NBA Finals in 25 Years

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Pacers will have its second chance to deliver the first-ever NBA championship title to the state of Indiana after knocking out the New York Knicks, 125-108, in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Finals series showdown on June 1, 2025.

With the 4-2 victory, Indiana just booked a return ticket to the NBA Finals, a moment that the fan base waited for 25 years since the Reggie Miller era.

Unfazed after New York overwhelmed them in Game 5 to extend the series, Indiana’s mayhem attack made sure there will be no Game 7 as they ran down the slow-paced Knicks to seal the deal.

The Knicks got off to a hot start, backstopped with their disciplined defensive sets that slowed down the Pacers attack in the first six minutes of the first quarter.

However, in just the blink of an eye, the Pacers answered back with a barrage of pick-and-pop plays involving Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, followed by their bench mob’s massive contribution.

From trailing by seven points, the Pacers snatched the driver’s seat by a point heading to the second frame, 25-24. The first few minutes of the quarter became a dogfight after OG Anunoby caught fire for the Knicks that kept themselves within striking distance.

Indiana received a huge impact from their frontcourt reserve duo of Thomas Bryant and Obi Toppin midway through the second as they answered every Anunoby basket with their three-point shooting and daredevil drives to the basket.

The Pacers only led by a narrow margin at the half, 58-54, but flipped the switch in the third quarter as they caught New York off guard with three straight buckets that swelled their lead to 10 points.

That third-quarter swing was made possible after the Pacers clogged New York in the hand-offs, specifically Andrew Nembhard’s suffocating defense on Jalen Brunson who was just held to 19 points on 8/18 shooting.

By putting Brunson on an isolated island, New York’s offensive schemes became stagnant in the third, as their main floor general had nowhere to go and had to force bail-out shots to beat the clock.

In the 2:03 mark of the third, Toppin sucked the life out of the Knicks after a coast-to-coast breakaway slam dunk that ballooned their biggest lead of the ball game to 23 points.

New York tried to free up Brunson via multiple picks from both elbows but Nembhard’s relentlessness in going under the screens helped him dodge the thudding screens.

The Knicks built a mini offensive run midway through the fourth that cut their deficit to just seven points but the Pacers officially closed their curtains after Haliburton and Pascal Siakam man-handled them with their two-man game.

Siakam proved to be too much for the Knicks as the newly-crowned Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) dropped a game-high 31 points derived from an efficient 10/18 shooting from the field alongside five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks.

Haliburton also bounced back from a dismal shooting performance in Game 5 with a double-double outing of 21 markers and 13 dimes.

Aside from the 1-2 punch’s contribution, the Pacers also received a balanced attack from their wards as Toppin, Nembhard, Turner, Bryant, and Andrew Nesmith chipped in 18, 14, 11, 11, and 10 points, respectively.

The Pacers will have five days to regroup before squaring off against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. Game 1 will kick off on June 6, 2025, at the Paycom Center.