The Knicks lost Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers, 125-108, ending their season on Saturday night.
Here are the takeaways…
-Things started off well for New York, who jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in the early minutes, but it went downhill from there. The Pacers took the lead on a Pascal Siakam two-pointer with 7:34 left in the first and never looked back.
The Knicks did take the lead once more in the first quarter, following Mitchell Robinson‘s alley-oop dunk with 2:31 left, but Indiana had control of the game throughout the night.
-Turnovers dictated the game in this onem as New York gave it up 17 times compared to the Pacers’ 12. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges each had five turnovers.
-Offensively, the Knicks couldn’t get enough going to outmatch the Pacers, who leaned on Siakam (31 points), Tyrese Haliburton (21 points) and Obi Toppin (18 points) off the bench. In fact, all five starters for Indiana ended the night in double-digits and its bench outscored New York’s 38-20.
-Needing a big game from its stars, New York got disappointing results from Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Brunson finished with 19 points and seven assists, while Towns finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. They combined to go 2-for-11 from deep as the Knicks as a whole didn’t shoot well from beyond the arc (9-for-32).
-On the other side, the Pacers were lights-out, especially from three, shooting 52 percent. Seven players made at least two threes.
-Surprisingly, Josh Hart only logged 22 minutes off the bench and finished with four points, six rebounds, three steals and one assist.
-Down just four points at halftime after OG Anunoby hit a two-pointer at the buzzer, the Knicks came out of the locker room and were outscored 34-23 in the third quarter, which spelled the beginning of the end.
-Indiana’s scoring onslaught didn’t stop in the fourth quarter and New York’s defense wasn’t nearly good enough, either.
-Despite outrebounding the Pacers, the Knicks couldn’t get the extra looks to go down. Meanwhile, Indiana took advantage of New York’s turnovers at every turn.
Game MVP: Pascal Siakam
He had a game-high 31 points in 36 minutes and shot well from the field and the free-throw line. He also added three blocks and one steal on the defensive end. After the game, he was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
Highlights
Jalen Brunson gets the Knicks on the board!
(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/1nc5zNqZ8e
β Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 1, 2025
LANDRY SHAMET FROM THE CORNER π― pic.twitter.com/NDwy3o9Fce
β Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 1, 2025
OG getting to work πͺ pic.twitter.com/FeOhLTgr0b
β Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 1, 2025
OG AT THE BUZZER pic.twitter.com/laD2HwaLw5
β Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 1, 2025
Alley-oop to Robinson! pic.twitter.com/zLsYrprBY2
β Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) June 1, 2025
What’s next
A long summer of reflection and meetings to improve the roster.
Read the full article here