The Indiana Pacers knew they needed to beat the Knicks in Game 4. It was a must-win game for them to even the series at two apiece. It was an absolute shellacking by Indiana. They killed the Knicks 121-89. It was never close from the start as the Pacers had a 20-point lead after the first quarter.
It was a brilliant performance from Indiana. Everyone played well, so it's hard to find anyone that played poorly. If you had to give someone a "dud" designation for this game, it would be Isaiah Jackson. He was 3-7 and had eight points and five rebounds. That's still playing pretty darn well off the bench. Yet, that tells you how well everyone else played in this game.
The Pacers shot 57% from the field in this game. Everyone was hitting their shots, so it was hard to just isolate two studs as well. It was a complete team win, so I decided to use one starter and one bench player for those awards.
The two point guards were marvelous for the Indiana Pacers in Game 4
Both point guards were sensational for the Pacers in this game. Tyrese Haliburton has been uber-aggressive since taking just six shots in Game 1. He knew that he had to be more of a threat to score the ball for this team to be a threat to win the series.
He finished the game with 20 points, five assists, and six rebounds in just 28 minutes of action. He shot 8-15 and 4-10 from three as well. The best part of this game is that he was able to rest his ankle because it was such a large blowout victory.
T.J. McConnell was brilliant too. He had 15 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds off the bench in 21 minutes played. He has been the best bench player in this series, which is not a surprise. McConnell has been fantastic off the bench all season long for the Pacers.
The hope is that Indiana can keep the momentum going in Game 5 in New York on Tuesday. It's hard to think they won't after this blowout.