Halftime Rewind: Pacers 55, Knicks 49 (Game 1)

Monday, May 6 at 7:30 PM ET at Madison Square Garden

The Indiana Pacers are in position to steal one on the road in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

At halftime, the sixth-seeded Pacers hold a 55-49 advantage over the No. 2 New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. 

Like they’ve done all season, the Pacers have relied on their depth to go in front, outscoring the Knicks’ second unit 27-1 through 24 minutes. No bench player for the Knicks has played more than five minutes in the game thus far.

All nine players who have taken the floor for the Pacers have recorded a basket, led by veteran guard T.J. McConnell’s 10 points off the bench. After McConnell, center Myles Turner has nine points at the break for the visitors, rookie Ben Sheppard has logged eight points, and All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has six points and five assists.

Jalen Brunson, who is leading the playoffs in scoring at 35.5 per game, has 18 points for the Knicks on 6-for-12 shooting, and Josh Hart is next for New York with 11 points and seven rebounds. 

Indiana is leading the rebounding margin 24-21 and has outscored the Knicks 30-26 in the paint thus far. The Pacers have also made seven 3-pointers to the Knicks’ four treys.

Indiana shot just 37.5 percent in the first quarter, but limited New York’s lead to 27-24 thanks to a late push by the bench unit.

Despite an early 8-0 run by the Pacers, where Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each made 3-pointers, Brunson dropped 10 points in the first four and a half minutes of the game to help the Knicks to a 14-10 lead.

After Pacers forward Obi Toppin’s 3-pointer halted a 10-2 Knicks run, Josh Hart hit a trey and went the length of the floor for a layup to put New York ahead 19-13, prompting a timeout by the visitors.

In the final 3:39 of the opening frame, the Pacers’ second unit sucessfuly upped the pace. 

The Pacers bench scored 11 points in the final minutes of the first, with McConnell making a trio of baskets, rookie Sheppard draining a 3-pointer, and Isaiah Jackson throwing down a transition dunk to make it a three-point game.

Indiana shot 53.8 percent in the second quarter, with Turner recording all nine of his points in the period by shooting 4-for-6 from the field, to take a 55-49 lead into intermission. 

A 3-pointer by Sheppard, two layups by Jackson, and a running layup from McConnell gave the Pacers a 33-32 lead before three straight baskets from Turner pushed the Pacers in front 40-36 with 5:41 on the clock.

Indiana and New York then kept the score within a possession until the Pacers mustered a 9-3 run in the final 1:58 to take a four-point lead into the break.

Both sides exchanged dramatic deep shooting in the final ticks.

After Haliburton hit a 3-pointer with 3 seconds on the clock, Knicks 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein swished nothing but net at the buzzer from half-court to end the Blue & Gold run.

There were five ties and three lead changes in the first half. 

TV: TNT – Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Stan Van Gundy (analyst), Chris Haynes (sideline reporter)

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan – Mark Boyle (play-by-play), Eddie Gill (analyst), Pat Boylan (sideline reporter/host)

The Pacers will host the Knicks for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 10. Find Tickets >>