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Pacers’ sensational shooting leads them to Game 7 win over Knicks, East finals berth

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Pacers’ sensational shooting leads them to Game 7 win over Knicks, East finals berth

NEW YORK — The Pacers started Game 7 on an incredible shooting run and by the time they cooled off they were in position to cruise to a 130-109 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals to meet the Boston Celtics.

The next series begins Tuesday in Boston at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Here are four observations.

The Pacers had the best shooting half in 25 years

The Pacers made their first four shots to start the game and once they finally missed on a Tyrese Haliburton 3-pointer, they didn’t miss again until the 4:30 mark in the first quarter, knocking down 10 of their first 11 field goal attempts.

The Pacers cooled off slightly after that, but not much. In the first quarter they made 16 of 21 field goals and 7 of 9 3-pointers for an absurd efficiency clip of 1.86 points per possession. They were 13 of 17 from the floor in the second half to go into halftime shooting 29 of 38 from the floor, a 76.3% clip that ranks as the best shooting first half in the last 25 years of playoff basketball surpassing the Spurs’ performance in Game 3 against the Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals according to ESPN Stats and Info.

The Pacers finished the half 8 of 12 from the 3-point mark and with 24 points in the paint. The Knicks couldn’t stop their drives and the Pacers drilled the open 3-pointers that their penetration created. They finished the half with 1.55 points per possession and a 70-55 lead. They didn’t cool much in the second half either, shooting 67.1% from the floor — an NBA playoff record — and posting 1.40 points per possession.

It was in a way fitting for the Pacers to win that way, as they averaged 123.3 points per game in the regular season, the sixth-highest scoring offense of all time and the highest-scoring offense since 1984.

“It’s a testament to our coaching staff and our offense,” center Myles Turner said. “We have a historic offense obviously, but this guy (Tyrese Haliburton) got things rolling and everybody just followed suit. To do that on the road when you’re in the Garden in a Game 7 obviously is phenomenal. This is what we’ve been doing all season long and it showed on a big stage.”

Tyrese Haliburton goes off in Game 7

In Sunday’s first quarter, Haliburton had his own sort of Reggie Miller-Spike Lee moment, jawing with a Knicks fan sitting on the front row at Madison Square Garden. That fan obviously doesn’t have Lee’s level of fame — it wasn’t obvious to anybody who he was and that section across from the benches is, obviously, celebrity row — but it seemed to get Haliburton energized and he turned that into one of his best performances in these playoffs.

“He was just talking with me before the game,” said Haliburton who wore a hooded sweat shirt to the post-game press conference with a picture of Miller in his famous pose making the choke sign in Madison Square Garden. “It seemed like whoever was sitting in that seat all series had something to say to me. I knew I was going to have to pick somebody to day to get me going, it just happened to be him. He got me going in the first quarter and it just continued on.”

In the first quarter alone, Haliburton scored 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting, drilling 4 of his 5 3-point attempts. Once the Knicks brought Miles McBride off the bench to guard him he found it a little bit more difficult to get space, but he still made shots when he was open and was almost lights out from beyond the arc. He scored 26 points on 10 of 17 shooting, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range and also finished with six assists.

“For me, aggression is not shots, it’s getting two feet in the paint,” Haliburton said. “I know it’s an old school way of thinking, but the more that I can get downhill, it opens things up for everybody else. Guys were making shots early. I just continued to get to the paint off these two guys (Turner’s and Pascal Siakam’s) ball screens. Get to the rim and kick out to these guys to make plays. For me it’s just feeling out the game, what’s needed in that game. I know today’s Game 7, unload the clip, have no regrets because I would hate to be (expletive) all summer about not shooting the ball today. For me it was just about coming out and playing the right way.”

Aaron Nesmith finds his offense, Andrew Nembhard produces

Aaron Nesmith has made a major impact for the Pacers this postseason, but it’s largely been because of his defense. He’s taken on big assignments in both series and moving him on to Jalen Brunson was a game changer in this series. However, shooting the ball has been a struggle as he entered Sunday shooting 38.4% from the floor and 27.9% from 3-point range for the playoffs.

But on Sunday, Nesmith found his stroke just as everyone else on the Pacers seemed to, making all eight of his shots including two 3-pointers for 19 points. He played sturdy defense on Brunson again, helping hold him to 17 points on 6 of 17 shooting before he left the game with a fractured left hand.

Nesmith’s performance was part of an exceptional day for the Pacers’ role players both in the starting lineup and on the bench. Guard Andrew Nembhard scored 20 points on 8 of 10 shooting, giving the Pacers 39 points on 16 of 18 shooting from their top two defenders.

“Those guys were great for us,” Siakam said. “They’re a big part of what we do.”

Guard T.J. McConnell scored 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting and dished out seven assists and posted a +21, and was particularly important during a third quarter stretch when the Knicks seemed to be making a comeback.

Pascal Siakam attacks OG Anunoby early

The Knicks got some inspiration and a couple of big buckets early from former IU star OG Anunoby, who missed the last four games with a hamstring strain but pushed it to return for Game 7. However, the Pacers and particularly his former Raptors teammate Pascal Siakam could clearly tell that, as well as Anunoby was shooting, he couldn’t move nearly well enough to defend anyone. So Siakam attacked him so frequently in the game’s opening minutes that the Knicks had to pull Anunoby and sit him the rest of the way.

Siakam made 4 of 4 shots in the 4 minutes and 41 seconds Anunoby was on the floor and kept attacking after that. He had 11 points in the first quarter alone. The Knicks put Isaiah Hartenstein on him and that made it harder for Siakam to score around the rim, but his mid-range jumper was on and he also hit two 3-pointers on three attempts, finishing with 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

“I wasn’t going in thinking I was going to test him,” Siakam said, “but obviously he didn’t look to healthy. He made some shots early. I love OG. Seeing him out there, I was just making sure he was OK first. I know it’s Game 7 and you want to give everything, but you’ve got to be healthy and he didn’t look healthy.”

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