Индиана Пэйсерс NBA-гийн финалд ойртлоо
Индиана Пэйсерс баг Зүүн бүсийн финалын 4-р тоглолтод Нью Йорк Никс багийг 130-121-ийн харьцаагаар ялж, цувралыг 3-1 болгоод байна. Энэ тоглолтод Обий Топпин өмнөх багийнхаа эсрэг 3 онооны шидэлт амжилттай гүйцэтгэж, Индианагийн 13 дахь 3 онооны шидэлт болсон. Түүний энэхүү шидэлт багийнх нь ялалтыг баталгаажуулсан юм.
Тус тоглолтод Тирэйс Халибөртон гайхалтай тоглолт үзүүлж, 32 оноо, 12 самбараас бөмбөг авалт, 15 дамжуулалт, дөрвөн бөмбөг таслалт болон алдаа гаргалгүй тогложээ. Индиана баг энэ ялалтаараа 2000 оноос хойш анх удаа NBA-гийн финалд ойртож байна. Пэйсерс баг плэйоффын гурав дахь удаагаа дараалсан ялагдалгүйгээр ялсан бөгөөд тэд 3-р тоглолтод ялагдсаны дараа эргэн сэргэсэн юм.
Индианагийн дасгалжуулагч Рик Карлайл хэлэхдээ, “Өчигдөр бидний үзүүлсэн бичлэгүүдийг харахад хэцүү байсан ч манай залуус үнэнч байж, үнэн гэдэг заримдаа өвдөлттэй байдаг ч бидний тоглолт 3-р тоглолтод буруу замаар явсан. Бид энэ удаад өөрсдийн зүгт эргүүлж чадсан” гэжээ. Тус баг эхний үед 43 оноо авч, 68.2 хувьтай шидэлтээр эхэлсэн бөгөөд Халибөртон 15 оноо, 6 дамжуулалт, 5 самбараас бөмбөг авалт хийж, тоглолтын эхний үеийг тэргүүлсэн байна.
Паскал Сиакам хэлэхдээ “Бид дахин эрч хүчтэй Индианагийн сагсан бөмбөгөөр тоглож чадсан. Хэрвээ бид ингэж тогловол өдөр бүр өөрсдөдөө боломж олгох болно” гэв. Бенедикт Матуурин 12 минутанд 20 оноо авч, түүний тоглолт багийн ялалтад чухал үүрэг гүйцэтгэсэн гэж Сиакам онцолжээ. Аррон Несмит ч мөн адил хэрэгтэй хамгаалалт үзүүлж, 16 оноо авсан бөгөөд багийнхаа эрч хүчийг нэмэгдүүлсэн байна.
Эх сурвалж:
Pacers keep foot on gas, stay perfect in Game 4s as they push Knicks to brink
After blowing a big lead in Game 3, Indiana got back to its style. “Let’s get it in, and let’s run.”
Мэдээний дэлгэрэнгүй:
INDIANAPOLIS — With 46.1 seconds to play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin stepped back behind the 3-point line to receive a baseline out-of-bounds pass from Tyrese Haliburton. Without a New York Knicks player anywhere near him, Toppin hit Indiana’s 13th 3-pointer, a dagger against his former team.
OBI TOPPIN ICES IT FROM DEEP!!
THE PACERS TAKE A 3-1 SERIES LEAD IN THE ECF!!
ONE WIN AWAY FROM THE FINALS 👀 pic.twitter.com/qXbgk953pd
— NBA (@NBA) May 28, 2025
Behind a historic performance from Haliburton, who finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and zero turnovers, Indiana is one win away from its first NBA Finals since 2000. The Pacers took a 3-1 lead with the 130-121 win over the Knicks on Tuesday.
It was the third bounce-back victory in the playoffs for the Pacers, who have not dropped back-to-back games since March 10. After losing Game 3 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, the Pacers won two straight to win the series in five games. Indiana raced out to a 2-0 lead over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round but once again dropped Game 3. The Pacers then rallied to win Games 4 and 5.
In Game 3 of the East finals on Sunday, New York limited Indiana to just 42 second-half points as the Pacers let a big lead slip away.
“We had some difficult film stuff yesterday,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “Not fun, but our guys, they’re authentic guys, and they want authenticity and the truth. And you know that sometimes the truth is pretty painful, but we allowed things to go a different direction than they needed to go in Game 3. And tonight, we were determined to turn it back our direction.”
On Tuesday night, Indiana continued its trend of getting out to a fast and forceful start in Game 4 by scoring 43 points in the first quarter. The Pacers shot 68.2 percent from the field and went 6 of 8 on 3s in the opening frame.
Haliburton set the tone early with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in the first quarter alone. After leading by five at halftime, the Pacers opened the second half even more aggressively than the first, determined to keep their foot on the gas and not get stagnant, as they did in Game 3.
“I felt like in the fourth quarter last game, we were a little bit more reactive than proactive,” Haliburton said. “They got some guys who can just make some hellacious shots. (Karl-Anthony Towns) and (Jalen Brunson) did that last game. I felt like those were kind of taking the air out of us. We were kind of sighing after every one, walking the ball up. Today we’re trying to keep poking on. Who cares? Let’s get it in, and let’s run. Go right back at them. They’re going to make shots. Let’s just keep going.”
That same mindset fueled the two previous Game 4 wins.
“We just came back with more energy playing Pacer basketball,” said Pascal Siakam, who had 30 points and five rebounds. “And we know that we’ll give ourselves a chance every single night if we play that way.”
Aaron Nesmith, who suffered an ankle injury in Game 3, was critical in defending Brunson and added 16 points, three rebounds and two steals.
“Just getting back to us playing our game and doing what we do best, just pushing the pace,” Nesmith said of his team’s return to form.
Bennedict Mathurin, who’d scored 11 points in 40 minutes over the first three games, added 20 points in 12 minutes on just eight shots.
“He’s a big part of why we won today,” Siakam said of Mathurin’s performance. “He’s been having a tough go… his resiliency, the way he came out was just huge for us … He looked free out there.”
(Photo of Tyrese Haliburton, Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns: Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)
