Pacers beat Knicks to stay alive in NBA playoffs | National

The Indiana Pacers picked up another big win on their home court Friday, defeating the New York Knicks 116-103 to force a decisive seventh game in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Pascal Siakam scored 25 points to lead Indiana in scoring. Tyrese Haliburton added 15 with nine assists and Myles Turner had 17 points while six Pacers players scored in double figures.

The Pacers, on the brink of elimination after an embarrassing Game 5 loss in New York, played with desperate aggression, outscoring the Knicks in the paint 62-38 and winning the rebounding battle.

They dished out 35 assists to keep their offense going and kept Knicks talisman Jalen Brunson in check for most of the evening as they improved to 6-0 at home this postseason.

However, they must continue on the road if they want to face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, with the Knicks hosting Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

The Pacers opened a close game with a 17-2 scoring run that extended their lead to 13 points late in the second quarter.

Donte DiVincenzo stopped the decline for New York by firing a three-pointer from the corner that cut the Pacers' halftime lead to 10, 61-51.

Brunson was only able to score five points on 2 of 13 shooting in the first half. He found his range after the break, scoring 14 points in the third period and finishing with 31.

Miles McBride added 20 points for the Knicks, but with Indiana picking up the tempo, New York was never really in danger in the second half.

To make matters worse, Knicks forward Josh Hart was forced out early in the fourth quarter with an abdominal pain. He had obviously been suffering from abdominal pain since the first quarter.

The Knicks were already without OG Anunoby, who missed a fourth straight game with a hamstring strain, just the latest in a series of injuries that left the Knicks without star Julius Randle in the playoffs.

bb/acb