NEW YORK — As the Pacers knocked down shot after shot in the first half on Sunday, you could feel the growing frustration in the crowd at Madison Square Garden.
Throughout the first three games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in New York, the home crowd had grown accustomed to erupting every time the Knicks went on a run. But in the first half of Game 7, the run never came because the Pacers essentially never missed a shot.
Indiana went 16-for-21 from the field and 7-for-9 from 3-point range in the first quarter to open up a 39-27 lead. The Blue & Gold then scored on their first eight possessions of the second quarter, pushing the margin as high as 22 points.
PLAYOFF CENTRAL: Follow Indiana's Postseason Run at Pacers.com/Playoffs >>
The Knicks fans tried their best to keep up the energy, rising to their feet at one point after a stop as Jalen Brunson brought the ball up the court with his team down 20. After a bucket, they chanted “DEF-ENSE” with as much gusto as they could muster.
But the Pacers just...kept...hitting...shots.
After the Knicks cut the lead to 56-42 with five minutes remaining in the first half, Andrew Nembhard hit a midrange jumper. On the next possession, Nembhard dished to Aaron Nesmith for a 3-pointer.
A minute later, Myles Turner converted a three-point play. Then Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam knocked down jumpers on the next two possessions. Just like that, the lead was back to 21.
Each time the ball fell through the net in the latter stages of the first half, the home crowd let out an audible sigh. The groaning grew louder with each successive miss.
The Pacers shot 76.3 percent from the field in the first half on their way to a 130-109 victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the ninth time in franchise history and the first time since 2014.
Sixth-seeded Indiana has now knocked off third seed Milwaukee and second seed New York and will now face top seed Boston for a spot in the NBA Finals.
"I just told our team when you win a Game 7 in Madison Square Garden, you've made history," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "It’s very, very difficult to do. This is the most raucous crowd in the NBA that I’ve seen."
It’s hard to adequately put into words just exactly what the Pacers did on Sunday. On the biggest stage, on the road, in a Game 7 they shot 67.1 percent from the field. That is the best field goal percentage by any team in any game in the history of the NBA playoffs.
"We have a historic offense, obviously, but this guy (Haliburton) got things rolling and just everybody kind of followed suit," Turner said. "To do that on the road, here in the Garden, in Game 7, is phenomenal, but this is what we’ve been doing all season long and we were able to do it on the biggest stage."
The Pacers knew that as good as they played in the first half, the Knicks were going to make a run over the final two quarters. That run came right out of the gates at the start of the third quarter.
The Knicks scored the first seven points of the second half, drawing within eight on Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer just 2:27 into the third quarter. Haliburton hit a three on the other end to put the Pacers’ first points of the half on the board, but Brunson countered with a trey of his own and then Josh Hart converted a layup that made it 73-67 less than four minutes into the half.
The Pacers kept their composure. Back-to-back baskets from Nembhard and Nesmith pushed the lead back to 10. DiVincenzo hit another three to make it 77-70.
That’s when the defense took over.
Aaron Nesmith darted in front of a Miles McBride pass, starting a break that ended with Haliburton driving and kicking to Turner for a three from the left wing. On the next possession, Haliburton poked a Brunson pass away. T.J. McConnell scooped it up and threw ahead to Haliburton for a layup.
The Knicks took a timeout at this point. The Pacers pressed after the stoppage and forced a five-second violation. The Pacers capitalized, with Nesmith scoring on a layup six seconds later.
In the next minute, Nesmith hit a jumper and then McConnell did what he does, stealing Isaiah Hartenstein’s inbounds pass and whipping a dish over his shoulder to Nesmith, who converted a reverse layup through contact for an and-one.
That was all part of a 16-4 run that pushed the lead back to 93-74. The Blue & Gold never looked back, cruising to the franchise's most consequential playoff win in a decade.
"We knew they were going to make their run," Nesmith said of the weathering the storm from the Knicks at the start of the third quarter. "We knew it was going to get loud in this building. We hadn’t responded well to that in previous games, so that was a big point of emphasis for us and we responded the right way today."
The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in fitting style, getting significant contributions from up and down the roster.
Haliburton, Indiana's lone All-Star, led the way with 26 points and six assists. He scored 14 points in the first quarter alone and finished the night 10-for-17 from the field and 6-for-12 from 3-point range.
With so much focus this postseason on Haliburton's aggression and shot attempts, he was aggressive in all the right spots on Sunday. He had a personal 8-0 run late in the first quarter, hitting a turnaround jumper and then two threes on three straight possessions.
"Today was Game 7, unload the clip and have no regrets," Haliburton said of his mindset.
"Tyrese Haliburton is a great basketball player," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "He’s a great point guard. If we need him to score 30, he can find a way to score 30. His job is to run the team - that’s why he led the league in assists...When you have a guy that is not only a great passer, but gives his teammates great confidence when he passes the ball, it’s important when balance is struck.
"Today, he knew that we needed some special shotmaking. There were shades of Reggie Miller running around in that first quarter."
Siakam, the Pacers' big trade acquisition, came through with 20 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Like he has so many times this postseason, the veteran forward and only player on the roster to have won an NBA championship was a calming presence, someone they could throw the ball to and know that he would go get a bucket.
"Having Pascal come here midway through the season and just adding his leadership and everything he’s able to provide for our team offensively and defensively, has been huge," Turner said.
"This ain't a surprise for us," Haliburton added. "It’s no fluke. We expect this from our group, and once we added (Siakam) we knew we really could take off."
Turner, the longest tenured Pacer, tallied 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting, five rebounds, and four blocks.
The 6-11 big man was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and has been through all the ups and downs of the franchise over the last nine seasons. He made the playoffs in each of his first five seasons with the Blue & Gold, but never got out of the first round (twice losing a Game 7 on the road). He was one constant as the franchise overhauled the roster over the last three years.
Making the Eastern Conference Finals was especially sweet for Turner, who had a long embrace with his family after the buzzer and was as giddy as a school kid in the postgame locker room.
"For me, personally, I can sit here and say a lot of things, but obviously it’s a long time coming," Turner said. "I’m just proud of this group, for real. It’s (the most) special group I’ve been around since I’ve been here. We all play for each other, there's no ego. When you have guys who can score 15 to 20 plus points every single night, seven or eight guys, there can be a lot of ego involved with that and we were able to nip that in the bud."
Perhaps no players embody the idea of having no ego better than Nesmith and Nembhard. The fourth and fifth starters take on the biggest defensive assignments night after night and often defer on the offensive end, where the majority of shots and touches go to the trio of Haliburton, Siakam, and Turner.
Nesmith and Nembhard were sensational on Sunday in Game 7, going a combined 16-for-18 from the field. Nembhard — whose 34-foot 3-pointer in Game 3 gave the Pacers their first win of the season — scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting while also tallying five rebounds and six assists. Nesmith — who took over the primary assignment of guarding the Knicks' star Brunson midway through the series — tallied 19 points and four boards while going 8-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
"I love Drew, just the way he plays the game," Siakam said. "He sacrifices everything just for the team but also has game. Aaron, the same thing...Those guys, they were great for us and are a big part of what we do."
Off the bench, McConnell was once again excellent, flying all over the floor on his way to 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, seven rebounds, and a steal. Third-year big man Isaiah Jackson came through with nine points, while forward Obi Toppin and rookie guard Ben Sheppard made key contributions like they have all series.
"We have the best bench in the NBA," Haliburton declared after the victory. "We are the deepest team in the NBA. We have five, six guys ready on the bench at all times ready to answer the call when need be. I think that's what separates us from everybody."
By advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers will also be playing late enough in May to overlap with the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 2014. The schedule couldn't work out any better for Indiana fans, as the Pacers will host Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday, the 108th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" will be on Sunday, and then Game 4 will be on Monday night at the Fieldhouse.
"There’s a lot of exciting things going on in Indiana right now," Haliburton said. "I think we’re just excited to be a part of it, and us three (Siakam and Turner) are all a part of the long-term future here in Indy and we’re all excited about that. Excited to continue to build excitement around our city and understand we’re not done yet."