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Brianna Williams, ESPN
The Indiana Pacers left little room for doubt in their 130-109 Game 7 rout of the
New York Knicks.
Their 21-point win at Madison Square Garden is the fourth-largest road win in Game 7 history.
Led by Tyrese Haliburton‘s 26 points, the Pacers shot 67.1%, the highest field goal percentage in any playoff game in NBA history. With six players reaching double digits in scoring, Indiana became the first team to have five players with more than 15 points in a Game 7 since 1987.
The Pacers now lead the all-time playoff series against the Knicks 5-3.
The storied playoff history between these two teams combined with the Game 7 atmosphere in New York raised the stakes — and the postgame trolling on social media upheld that standard.
With references to Spike Lee, Reggie Miller and more, Indiana’s celebratory posts match the team’s dominance on the hardwood.
Numbers don’t lie
Indiana jumped out to a 70-55 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Pacers finished 19-25 (7-11 3-pointers) off passes in the first half. They are the first team to shoot at least 75% in each of the first 2 quarters of a game, regular season or playoffs, since the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
21-0. https://t.co/Lr1YJufnkk
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 19, 2024
Sorry, Spike
The Academy Award-winning director is a longtime Knicks fan and even reunited with Pacers legend Reggie Miller ahead of Game 2.
If his dejected demeanor is any indication, he would’ve written a different ending for this series.
🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/MF1HOCOD9f
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 19, 2024
Put it in three-inch headlines
After the Pacers won their Game 5 matchup in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, New York newspapers blamed Lee for taunting Miller.
This time around, Indiana crafted its own headlines.
how’s that for a headline 😮💨
Eastern Conference Finals bound. pic.twitter.com/Tmu7bqSonP
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 19, 2024
A picture is worth a thousand words
Haliburton capped off the trolling by wearing a hoodie with a photo of Miller’s choke gesture celebration from the 1994 Knicks-Pacers series to the postgame news conference.
Tyrese Haliburton in a Reggie Miller sweatshirt after winning Game 7 at the Garden 😈 pic.twitter.com/TKuOc3t1zu
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 19, 2024
ESPN Stats and Information contributed to this story.