The Indiana Pacers have ridden one of the most sensational first halves in Game 7 history to a 130-109 away victory over the New York Knicks, advancing to the NBA Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 10 years.
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The Pacers made 29 of their 38 shots in the first half, a shooting percentage of 76.3 per cent that was the highest in the postseason since 1997, when the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters.
They led 70-55 at that point and pulled away every time the Knicks tried to make a run in the second half.
"I just told our team when you win a Game 7 in Madison Square Garden, you've made history," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points for the sixth-seeded Pacers who set an NBA playoff record by finishing at 67.1 per cent for the game and advanced to face top-seeded Boston in a series that begins Tuesday.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson left in the second half with a broken left hand, one final injury for a team that was decimated by them.
They got OG Anunoby back Sunday after he missed the previous four games with a strained left hamstring, but he clearly wasn't moving well and was taken out of the game after just five minutes.
Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard each scored 20 points and Aaron Nesmith was 8 for 8 en route to his 19 for the Pacers.
Donte DiVincenzo made nine 3-pointers and scored 39 points for the Knicks, who were trying to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000 but couldn't overcome the losses of Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic, before losing Anunoby and finally Brunson.
Brunson finished with 17 points and nine assists, shooting 6 for 17 after scoring 40 or more points five times in this postseason. Alec Burks came off the bench for 26 points.
The game was a chance for the Pacers to show off the offense that led the NBA with 123.3 points per game.
They scored 39 points in the first quarter, the most in a Game 7 in the play-by-play era, looking every bit like the team that set an NBA record this season by reaching 140 11 times.
The Pacers made 10 of their first 11 shots and didn't slow down much the rest of the half.
Australian Associated Press
