New York Knicks fans chanted “OVERRATED” at Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton just before halftime of Game 2 on Friday. Haliburton only had two points, but he’d also sent Game 1 into overtime and finished with 31 points and 11 assists in the team’s historic victory. Had the fans “poked the bear”? Looks like it.
Haliburton scored 12 points, dished out six assists, and grabbed five rebounds in the second half, and forward Pascal Siakam dominated the Knicks’ defense all night, scoring 39 points as the Pacers won a second straight road game, 114-109, and took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, with game three in Indiana on Sunday, May 25.
“I can’t imagine all those people then coming over to Gainbridge (Fieldhouse where the Pacers play home games),” Haliburton said after the victory. “Going to be a rowdy crowd, going to be a little intoxicated. Who knows? It’s going to be a special time. You know, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
“You know, there’s been a lot of people in our organization, the Pacers, have a special thing about our organization. We feel like everybody in our organization has worked there for, like, 30 years and I think that everybody’s talked about it and how special it is. So, for me to now get the chance to experience it, it’s going to be a lot of fun planning to, you know, come into the facility, maybe a little earlier, maybe the job will be a little longer. But, yeah, I’m excited.
“The energy at Indy is so special right now, not only from what we’re doing, but, you know, the Fever (WNBA team), you know, people are loving what they’re doing as well. So, the energy and indeed, and then obviously the (Indianapolis) 500 as well. So, the energy has been amazing, and we’re just blessed that we’re able to be a part of it and I’m looking forward to it.”
Knicks star Jalen Brunson said he had confidence in his teammates that they could overcome an 0-2 deficit, then directed something toward Knicks fans.
“My utmost respect to the Knicks fans, they’ve always been there through the ups and the downs,” he said. “They’re very knowledgeable sports fans, for me what I want to say to them is obviously we got to continue to fight. It’s going to take one day at a time, one game at a time. We can’t look ahead we can’t think about anything other than Game 3 at this point and so that’s just my mindset going forward.”
The Knicks hope Friday’s home game was not the last of the season. They must win in Indiana to force Game 5 and return to Madison Square Garden.
