INDIANAPOLIS — Turnovers were a major issue for the Knicks throughout the Eastern Conference finals, and their last game of the series — and their season — certainly was no different.
The Knicks coughed up the ball a series-high 18 times and they were outscored by a whopping 34-13 margin off turnovers in falling for the fourth and final time to the Pacers, 125-108, in Game 6 on Saturday nightat Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges were the primary culprits with five giveaways apiece, followed by two each by Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson.
“I saw a lot of breakaways on their part. It’s probably a big reason why they were able to extend their leads throughout the series,” Brunson said. “You can start with Game 1.
“It’s something that I have to be able to control. I always talk about controlling the things I can control, and that’s one of them, and I wasn’t able to do that throughout the series. I wasn’t able to give my teammates and team an opportunity to go out there and win more games. So yeah, it’s really terrible on our part. … Terrible on my part, excuse me.”
Pacers wing Andrew Nembhard, who was switched by Indiana coach Rick Carlisle to be the primary defender against Brunson with Aaron Nesmith slowed by an ankle issue, recorded six steals.
Tyrese Haliburton added three in the series clincher as the Pacers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
Haliburton, who arrived to the game in all black to supposedly signify that he would be attending a funeral for the Knicks, also had 21 points and 13 assists for the Pacers, who will face the Thunder in the Finals with both teams looking for a first NBA title.
It marked the fifth time in the six games that Haliburton was credited with two or more steals.
The Knicks committed 10 turnovers in Saturday’s first half, and they finished with at least 15 in five of the six games, with the lone exception their 13 in a Game 2 defeat.
Even in the two games the Knicks emerged victorious, they were charged with 15 in both Game 3 and Game 5.
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In the first five games, the Knicks lost the ball 75 times and conceded 106 points while scoring only 48 points off Indiana giveaways.
“They obviously played well and they played fast,” Josh Hart said. “Turnovers were tough for us. We had some lapses in communication and in the postseason, you can’t do that. You can’t give away possessions, you can’t give away games.”
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Hart committed five turnovers in the Knicks’ home loss in Game 4, and said afterward that he was “embarrassed by his play.”
Down by 15 points (78-63) with 6:44 to go in Saturday’s third quarter, the Knicks embarked on an 8-0 run to close within seven.
But Nesmith scored in transition following Pascal Siakam’s steal from Bridges, T.J. McConnell buried a 3-pointer after Robinson fumbled the ball out of bounds, and former Knicks forward Obi Toppin nailed another trey after Miles McBride was called for stepping out of bounds as the Pacers stretched the lead back to 15 by the end of the quarter.
The Knicks then netted the first six points of the fourth, but Nembhard pick-pocketed Brunson for his sixth steal — and Brunson’s fifth turnover — resulting in a layup at the other end for a 14-point game with 8:25 remaining.
The Knicks’ transition defense, in general, was atrocious Saturday night, with the Pacers finishing the game with a 25-10 edge in fast-break points, including four buckets off the inbounds pass following made baskets by the Knicks, which TNT analyst Stan Van Gundy at one point labeled “inexcusable.”
