The No. 4 seed Pacers, led by Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam, beat the No. 3 seed Knicks to advance to the 2025 NBA Finals.
Like a lot of stories, the simplest way to begin is with the ending.
In the case of the Indiana Pacers, the ending that really matters for where their team is now came 53 weeks ago. That’s when the mighty Boston Celtics, rolling through a 16-3 postseason to the 2024 NBA championship, swept the Pacers in four games.
It was less a triumph by the Celtics than a pat on the head for an Indiana team that was in the Eastern Conference finals before its time. The Pacers weren’t ready. They were young, too porous defensively – Boston scored 133, 126, 114 and 105 points in last year’s sweep – and rather surprised, having bumped off Milwaukee and New York as a sixth seed.
To the outside world, this year’s edition of the Pacers probably looked pretty similar. Still young, still known for the points they can post in a flash, still playing up through the East as the fourth seed that toppled Cleveland in the semifinals and, most recently, the No. 3 Knicks last week.
Internally, though, the Pacers don’t feel like overachievers at all.
They learned, they grew, they changed from the experience and feedback of last spring. Some of the differences now are intangibles, absorbed individually and displayed collectively. Others are the result of hard work, white-board stuff and diligent efforts on the practice court.
The Pacers have great continuity, too. In most areas, except for expectations.
“We got to the same spot last year, fell short, and we just worked our tails off to get back here,” said Tyrese Haliburton, the point guard, leader and face of the team.
“The buy-in from our whole group has been huge. Last year, all that was being said was that we couldn’t win because we don’t guard anybody and all we try to do is outscore people.”
Last season, Indiana averaged 123.3 points per game and gave up 120.2, good enough for that sixth-place finish and 47 victories. This season, they shaved more than five points per game off what they allowed. In efficiency (points per 100 possessions), the Pacers accepted a drop from second to ninth offensively, because they boosted themselves from 24th to 14th defensively.
“Our defense is something we’ve been working on steadfastly for over a year and a half,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “The year started last year with really a different set of rules. We were playing small and even faster. It wasn’t a team that had great defenders, but we’ve gotten better defenders. We’ve gotten bigger. We got Pascal [Siakam, in a Feb. 2024 trade] and the guys co-signed on the importance of defense and everybody has participated in the growth.”
Haliburton, a willowy 6-foot-5, still has a ways to go, but Indiana’s other top rotation players all boast solid defensive attributes. Siakam is a quick-twitch 6-foot-9 with great mobility and wingspan. Myles Turner remains a strong rim protector. Aaron Nesmith hounds most opponents’ top scoring threats, then chips in his own offense as a bonus.
And Andrew Nembhard, a valued combo guard since he arrived as the No. 31 pick in 2022, has gotten better defensively each season. In the Game 6 clincher against New York Saturday, with Nesmith hobbled by an ankle sprain earlier in the series, it was Nembhard making life miserable for Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson. After some shooting sputters in the first five games, the 6-foot-5 native of Florida and Gonzaga product scored 14 points, had eight assists and stole the ball six times.
Here’s what impressed Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson about Indiana using all 94 feet of hardwood as its defensive canvas: “The duration of their intensity. How long they can go. They press full-court, and then they run consistently all game. They never stop. It’s hard to do. I give them a ton of credit for that. It’s extreme ball pressure.”
Atkinson’s heavily favored No. 1 seed dropped all three of its home games to Indiana and was gone in five. That should be the last surprise to this Pacers season, because the word has been out ever since.
“We’ve taken such a big step on the defensive end as a group,” Haliburton said. “I think Andrew, Aaron and Myles kind of lead that, and me and P [Siakam] are trying to follow their lead and get it going on that side of the ball. And our bench guys just come in and bring more energy. The step we made on that side of the ball is why we’re here.”
Said Carlisle: “People look at playoff victories and point to great scoring performances and triple-doubles and stuff like that. Series-defining plays oftentimes are loose-ball effort plays.”
Offensively, they win collectively as well, with seven players averaging at least 10 points. Not only were the Pacers tough to beat when Haliburton (25-3), Siakam (26-16) or Turner (13-2) scored 20 points or more, they were a problem when Nembhard (9-5) or Nesmith (10-3) had 15 or more.
“We’re different from every other team in the NBA,” Haliburton said during the Cavaliers series. “We don’t have one guy who scores all the points. We defeat teams in a lot of different ways. We move the ball, the ball finds guys making shots, making plays.”
Fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and those tuned in from afar have seen the scaffolding gradually come off. One week into December, the Pacers were 10-15 and considered a disappointment, flailing around in 10th place. As the calendar turned to 2025, they were a bit better but still just 16-18.
After that, the tumblers clicked and Indiana closed the regular season 34-14, and has added a 12-4 playoff run. Its combined mark of 46-18 since Jan. 1 ranks second only to Oklahoma City’s 53-13. But the Thunder were terrific from the start, getting through December at 27-5.
In the Finals, the Pacers clearly are the underdogs. Bookmakers say so, every metric by which the NBA gauges success says so. Wherever experts have given the edge or checked a box in favor of the Thunder in assessing this matchup, though, that’s done.
Now, as the championship round plays out over four to seven games, the freedom and opportunities to overachieve and surprise – again – belong to Indiana.
It’s not a bad place to be.
* * *
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.
