LOS ANGELES – Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points and the Indiana Pacers dismantled the New York Knicks, 121-89, on Sunday (Monday Manila time) to level their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.
After the first three games of the best-of-seven series came down to the final minutes, Haliburton and the Pacers finally got their high-octane offense firing and fashioned a blow-out, a raft of injuries at last catching up with the Knicks.
The Pacers connected on 56.8% of their shots, drilling 14 three-pointers and dominating in the paint.
T.J. McConnell scored 15 points off the bench for Indiana, who had six players score in double figures.
After a dunk by Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein to open the game, the first quarter was all Pacers, Indiana pushing their lead to as many as 23 points.
Knicks talisman Jalen Brunson was 0-for-5 in the opening quarter and the Pacers bench out-scored the Knicks reserves 17-0 in the period.
The domination continued in the second quarter, Haliburton sending the crowd into a frenzy with a three-pointer over Donte DiVincenzo that put the Pacers up by 30 with 5.9 seconds left in the first half.
They would lead by as many as 43 before it was over, but despite the rapturous ovation from fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton said the Pacers must remain focused on the task ahead.
“We did our job,” Haliburton said. “They did their job and won two at home, we did our job and won two at home. Game five is higher stakes.”
The banged-up Knicks were again without OG Anunoby, who injured a hamstring in game tw o to join key contributors Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic on the sidelines.
The strain was telling on Brunson, who is playing through a right foot injury. Brunson connected on six of 17 attempts to score 18 points with three rebounds and five assists before checking out with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter.
With the contest out of hand and game five coming up at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, both coaches pulled their starters for the fourth quarter.
“Now we’ve got to go there and get a win in the Garden,” Haliburton said. “We expect them to throw a big punch go ing into game five, but we’re capable of doing that at the same time.”
MANILA, Philippines — The stage is set for another high-power ed post-season duel between Meralco and Barangay Ginebra.
With the Gin Kings waiting in the Season 48 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, the Bolts took care of business and hammered a two-game sweep of quarterfinal foe NLEX, 100-81, last night at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
After rallying to a 97-93 win and bucking Robert Bolick’s 48-point scorcher in Game 1, the Bolts turned on full power defensively and offensively to finish off the Road Warriors in the race-to-two and follow Ginebra to the best-of-seven series.
The No. 2 and twice-to-beat Gin Kings had already advanced Saturday with a 99-77 rout of No. 7 Magnolia.
The Bolts and the Gin Kings will duel for the eighth time in the playoffs since Season 41, a rivalry marked by three finals entanglements.
While limiting Bolick to 18 on 6-of-18 shooting, the Bolts also did a better job getting buckets, making 49.3 percent of their shots (37-of-75).
Chris Banchero dropped 14 of his game-high 23 in the fourth quarter as he ignited a telling 24-11 exchange that put Game 2 beyond NLEX’ reach.
Earlier, Rain or Shine’s youth brigade showed more poise in the endgame this time to secure a lifesaving 121-113 Game 2 win over TNT.
Wiser coming off a fourth-quarter meltdown in their opening 99-116 loss, the E-Painters outsteadied the Tropang Giga and unleashed an 11-2 salvo in the last 2:38 to force their opponents to a 1-1 tie and a deciding third game.
At the forefront of ROS’ gritty stance was Jhonard Clarito, who gunned down a career-high 29 points built around a perfect 5-of-5 marksmanship from beyond the arc.
Clarito’s last triple was part of the E-Painters’ bombardment towards the finish.