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Posts tagged as “Indiana Pacers”

Pacers Blow Out Thunder to Force winner takes all Game 7

June 20, 2025

The Indiana Pacers routed the OKC Thunder to force a Game 7 in the 2025 NBA Finals. The Pacers had a slow start, being down 2–10, but then went on a 26–15 run to close the 1st quarter with a 28–25 lead. In the second quarter, the Pacers tightened their defense by limiting the Thunder to just 17 points while scoring 36. The quarter was punctuated by a Haliburton steal and a no-look pass to Siakam, who posterized Jalen Williams with a jam.

It was a total team effort for the Pacers, with six players scoring in double figures. Tyrese Haliburton, who was playing with a strained calf aggravated in Game 5, had 14 points and 5 assists. Obi Toppin scored a team-high 20 points, with 4-of-7 from the 3-point line off the bench. Despite having the tough assignment of guarding league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he was able to score 17 points and 4 assists. Pascal Siakam added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The second half was no different from the first. The Pacers again limited OKC to just 18 points in the 3rd period while building a 30-point lead entering the 4th quarter. By the start of the 4th, OKC Head Coach Mark Daigneault took out most of his starting lineup. Even though they managed to score 31 points in the final period and limited the Pacers to just 18 points, the lead was too much for OKC to overcome.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with a modest 21 points, followed by Jalen Williams with 16 points, after scoring 40 points in Game 5.

Game Highlights

This will be the first Game 7 in the NBA Finals since 2016, and it will be in Oklahoma City this Sunday. History will be on OKC’s side, as home teams are 15-4 in Finals Game 7s, but the last team to win a Game 7 was the visiting team.

Oklahoma City Thunder win Game 5 of the 2025 NBA Finals (120 – 109)

June 17, 2025

The OKC Thunder are one win away from hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, as they easily defeated an undermanned Indiana Pacers (120-109). OKC built a comfortable 18-point lead in the first half (56-38), but the Pacers slowly chipped away at the lead to trail by just two points (95-93) with 8:30 left in the game. However, the Pacers were not able to take the lead, as the Thunder went on a 25-16 run.

Jalen Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points and 10 assists. OKC also got a lot of help from their bench players, with Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace adding 14 points and 11 points, respectively.

Tyrese Haliburton, who was playing with an ankle injury that he aggravated in the first quarter, was limited throughout the game. He failed to make a single field goal the whole game, with all of his 4 points coming from the free-throw line. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, while T.J. McConnell added 18 points and Aaron Nesmith had 14.

Game 6 will be in Indiana, and the Pacers will have one more chance to extend this to Game 7 and prevent OKC from celebrating on their home court.

Pacers takes Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals to take 2 – 1 lead (116 – 107)

June 13, 2025

The Pacers are two games away from hoisting the Larry O’Brien in Indiana. They defeated the OKC Thunder with big contributions from the bench players, particularly Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell.

Mathurin led the Pacers with 27 points, followed by Tyrese Haliburton, who was one rebound away from a triple-double with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. Pascal Siakam added 21 points and 6 rebounds. But it was McConnell’s presence on the defensive end that made the difference; he scored 10 points and added 5 steals, an NBA Finals record.

It was a very close game, where the biggest lead by either team was just 9 points. But in the 4th quarter, the Indiana Pacers tightened their defense and limited Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to just 3 field goal attempts and OKC as a team to just 18 points against the 32 points by the Pacers.

Except for Cason Wallace, every OKC starter had double-digit points, led by Jalen Williams with 26 points and 6 rebounds, while the league MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, scored 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Chet Holmgren added 20 points and 10 rebounds. But that same OKC team was limited by the Pacers’ defense to just 7 points in the last 5 minutes of the game.

Game 4 will still be at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana, where OKC will try to even the series and prevent the Pacers from going up 3-1 in the NBA Finals.

Indiana Pacers move on to the 2025 NBA Finals

June 1, 2025

The Indiana Pacers will advance to the NBA Finals as they defeat the NY Knicks to bag the 2025 Eastern Conference Champions. It was a close first half of the game, where the largest lead was just 6 points (33-39) by the Indiana Pacers.

Pascal Siakam, who was named 2025 Eastern Conference MVP, carried the scoring load for the Pacers in the first half, scoring a team-high 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists with a steal and 3 blocks. Tyrese Haliburton, who had just scored 7 points in the first half, added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 13 assists. He also made 3 steals and a block.

As great as Siakam and Haliburton were, it was a total team effort for the Pacers. Seven Pacers scored in double digits, including seldom-used Thomas Bryant, who scored 11 points in just 13 minutes of playing time.

This will be the Pacers’ first trip to the NBA Finals in 25 years. The last time they won the Eastern Conference Finals was in 2000, where they also defeated the NY Knicks in 6 games.

The Indiana Pacers will face the waiting OKC Thunder, with the league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals will be this Thursday.

Pacers shock Knicks in a 4th-quarter comeback to win Game 1 of the East Conference Finals (138-135)

May 22, 2025

If Boston had a choke job against the New York, then this time it was the NY Knick who had a choke job against the Indiana Pacers. The New York Knicks who are playing in their home floor and was leading by 17-points (111 – 94) with just 6:26 mins remaining in regulation then the Pacers went on a 31 to 14 run to tie the game at 125 to extend the game to over time.

Aaron Nesmith led the Pacers’ run in the 4th quarter, making 6 consecutive three-pointers and scoring 30 points, while Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 31 points, 4 rebounds, and 11 assists. Haliburton made a game-tying 23-foot step-back jump shot to beat the game clock and extend the game for another 5 minutes.

Jalen Brunson lead the Knicks with 43 points and 5 assists but committed 7 turn over, Karl-Anthony Towns added 35 points and 12 rebounds but missed two free-throw that could have given the Knicks a 5 point lead with 14.1 secs remaining in regulation.

Both team will be back at MSG this Saturday, May 24, 2025, for Game 2 of the East Conference Finals.

Pacers eliminate Cavs to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals (114 – 105)

May 15, 2025

The Indiana Pacers have once again showed us that they’re one of the top franchise in the Eastern Conference, by eliminating the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers with a final score of 114-105 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-final series. This will be the second consecutive year the Pacers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, a feat they haven’t achieved in more than a decade.

Despite a strong start from the Cavaliers, the Pacers rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second quarter, took control in the third, and built a 12-point lead after halftime. Notably, the Pacers won all three games at Cleveland’s homecourt in the series.

Tyrese Haliburton led the charge for Indiana with 31 points, including five crucial three-pointers in the second quarter that sparked the Pacers’ comeback. Haliburton also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 8 assists. Pascal Siakam contrrbuted a solid 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Donovan Mitchell, playing through left ankle injury, led the Cavaliers with a game-high 35 points and 9 rebounds, while Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds. However, the Cavaliers struggled with their shooting, particularly from beyond the arc, converting only 9 of their 35 three-point attempts. The Pacers’ defense tightened in the 3rd quater, limiting the Cavaliers’ to just 20 points against the Pacers’ 33 points.

The Pacers now await the winner of the other Eastern Conference semi-final matchup between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks.

Caitlin Clark drains 25-straight threes during an offseason workout

October 26, 2024

Caitlin Clark is entering Steph Curry territory with her shooting!

It is currently off-season for Caitlin and the entire WNBA. Clark is schedule to participate in the coming LPGA pro-am at The Annika this November.

In an article on Sports Illustrated, Scott Agness of “Fieldhouse Files with Scott Agness” explained that Catlin Clark is practicing in the old practice court of the Indiana Pacers, “Fever use the practice court inside The Fieldhouse, what used to be for the Pacers. Now the Pacers have a $50M facility across the street, the St. Vincent Center, which opened in 2017,”

USA Basketball officially announced the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team

April 23, 2024

The USA Basketball has officially announced the 12-man roster of the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team for this year’s Summer Olympic bound for Paris. The team was selected by USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director Grant Hill and approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.

  1. Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns)
  2. LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
  3. Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)
  4. Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
  5. Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
  6. Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)
  7. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)
  8. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
  9. Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
  10. Jrue Holiday (Boston Celtics)
  11. Kawhi Leonard (L.A. Clippers)
  12. Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)

The 2024 USA Men’s National Team will be led by head coach Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), who is assisted by Mark Few (Gonzaga University), Tyronn Lue (L.A. Clippers) and Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat). Last summer, the quartet coached the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup in Manila.

The team boasts of 12 NBA All-Stars, four NBA MVPs and six NBA champions, as for their international experience, the team brings a combined 11 Olympic appearances and owns 10 Olympic gold medals as well as three FIBA World Cup titles. Talent-wise, we can say that the 2024 Dream team can be compared to the 1992 Dream Team, as for their performance, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

If you want to see the team in action, USA Basketball will commence training camp on July 6 in Las Vegas. Following the game vs. Canada, the Americans will embark on an international training window that begins when the USA hosts Australia and Serbia on July 15 and 17, respectively, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Australia and Serbia will also face off on July 18 in Abu Dhabi.

Source: USA Basketball

Here are your 2024 NBA All-Star Game Starters

January 26, 2024

NBA has finally announced this year’s All-Star Game Starters. The TNT crew (Shaq, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson) even had a segment in their show to announce the 10 All Star starters.

Eastern Conference starters

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo*
  • Joel Embiid
  • Jayson Tatum
  • Tyrese Haliburton
  • Damian Lillard

Western Conference starters

  • LeBron James*
  • Kevin Durant
  • Nikola Jokic
  • Luka Doncic
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

* = denotes team captain

Starters for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game were selected by fans, current NBA players and a media panel. Fans accounted for 50% of the vote, while players and media accounted for 25% each.

This year, the league will revert back to the EAST vs West format, which means that title CAPTAIN will just be for formality and each players will team up for their respective conference in the 73rd NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home court of the Indiana Pacers.

Los Angeles Lakers are the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Champions

December 10, 2023

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament Champions, this is after a dominant performance the Lakers Stars Anthony Davis with his 41 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. Lakers also had a lot of help from Austin Reaves, who came off the bench, he scored 28 points, Lebron James also helped with his 24 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers controlled the tempo of the game, even though Indiana are in striking distance until Los Angeles went on a 15-3 run late in the fourth quarter to secure the win for good. Lakers went old school by scoring in the paint at will, exploiting Indiana’s lack of size. This was also evident in the Rebounds, where the Lakers grabbed 55 rebounds versus Pacers 33 rebounds.

Pacers’ PG Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points and 11 assists, Bennedict Mathurin also scored 20 points and Aaron Nesmith had 15, but they could not contain AD for wreaking havoc in the paint. As for tournament awards.

Pacers will visit Detroit on Monday night to start a four-game road trip, while the Lakers will go to Dallas on Tuesday night for their three-game road trip.

Final 4 of the NBA In-Season Tournament are now Complete

December 6, 2023

We now have the Final 4 teams for the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, which will be held in Las Vegas this 7th of December.

Semis

For the West side, it will be between LA Lakers versus New Orleans Pelicans, then for the East Side, we have Indiana Pacers against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Finals

The two winners for games between; LA Lakers versus New Orleans Pelicans, and Indiana Pacers against the Milwaukee Bucks, will once again play for the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship, which the league is calling ‘The NBA Cup’. Games will also be in Las Vegas and will be on Dec. 9th.

Another DNP for Kai Sotto in a loss to the Indian Pacers (108 – 85)

July 11, 2023

It was another disappointment for Filipino fans who went to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Tuesday morning, Manila time, to see Kai Sotto in action. Instead, the 7-foot-3 Hiroshima Dragonflies center was benched once more in a loss to the Pacers.

The Orlando coaching staff once again gave priority to contracted players and draft picks though at the 2:22 mark in the 2nd qtr, fans can be heared chanting “We Want Sotto!” The game was decided in the middle of the second qtr, where the Pacers are enjoying a 17-pt lead.

Kai Sotto will have 2 more games for his NBA Summer League debut; July 12th facing the New York Knicks and on July 13th against the Portland Trail Blazers. Sotto was also a DNP in the first game against the Detroit Pistons.