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NBA Rumors
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By InsideHoops.comUpdated Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 5 a.m. ET
The Pacers played their worst offensive game of the postseason in Thursday night's 111-94 loss to the Knicks, but despite missing a chance to close out the series, star guard Tyrese Haliburton emphasized there was "no need to panic." "We're a resilient group," Haliburton said after the game. "We always want to respond when things don't go well after a game like that. We understand what the stakes are. ... We're fine. There's no need to panic or anything." The Pacers still lead the series 3-2, with Game 6 on Saturday night in Indianapolis. - ESPN.com
Bennedict Mathurin scored a team-high 23 points off the bench, and Pascal Siakam led the Pacers starters in scoring with 15. But Obi Toppin, who had 11 points off the bench, was the only other Pacers player in double figures. After putting up a historic stat line in Game 4, Haliburton struggled to stay involved on offense Thursday night, scoring eight points on 2-of-7 shooting with six assists. His seven shot attempts were his fewest in any game this postseason, and he scored or assisted on 24% (23 of 94) of the Pacers' points, according to ESPN Research. In Games 1 through 4, Haliburton scored or assisted on 41% of his team's points. - ESPN.com
With Minnesota's season having come to a screeching halt just short of the first NBA Finals berth in franchise history for the second straight year, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards made a promise to improve. "I'm going to work my butt off this summer," Edwards said after Minnesota's 124-94 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. "Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer. I'll tell you that much." The statement came after the Thunder, the league's No. 1 overall seed led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, made the 23-year-old budding superstar work for everything he got in the Western Conference finals. After he finished the regular season with a 27.6 points average -- fourth best in the NBA -- he was held below 20 in three of the five games against Oklahoma City. - ESPN.com
Minnesota committed 21 turnovers, leading to 18 points for the Thunder and igniting the crowd that celebrated its team's first trip to the Finals since 2012. Naz Reid (11 points, 5 rebounds) had five turnovers and Julius Randle (24 points, 5 rebounds) was responsible for four, as the Wolves looked disjointed all night, trailing by as many as 39 points -- their largest deficit in any game this season, eclipsing the 36-point lead the New York Knicks built on them in December. "I feel like we're a better team than what we showed," Randle said. "So, a lot of motivation going into the summer, for sure." - ESPN.com
Oklahoma City jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter, when the Thunder held the Timberwolves to only nine points, Minnesota's fewest in any quarter this season and in the franchise's playoff history. The Thunder had a 65-32 halftime lead after the Timberwolves had more turnovers (14) than made field goals (12) against Oklahoma City's swarming, smothering defense that ranked No. 1 in the league this season. "It almost seemed like we did everything we were supposed to do," said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 34 points and eight assists to put the finishing touches on his Western Conference finals MVP performance. "We made it tough on the guys we were supposed to make it tough on. Well, I thought it was tough for everybody [on the Timberwolves]. We were clicking on all cylinders as far as what their tendencies are, what our game plan is, how we want to impact the game, how we want to impact the ball. "Then from there, we were able to just run and have fun and be ourselves. It really starts with defense for us." - ESPN.com
New York stumbled out of the gate defensively Tuesday night, surrendering 43 points in the first quarter and a near-triple-double to star guard Tyrese Haliburton in the first half. It was a sign of things to come. And even though the Knicks stayed within striking distance, they couldn't generate enough defensive stops to stage a comeback, losing 130-121 in Game 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the defeat, New York trails Indiana 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. It means the Knicks would need to defeat the Pacers -- who haven't lost back-to-back games since early March -- three straight times to reach the Finals. The Knicks managed to pull to within six points in the closing minutes, leaving many wondering if they would do the unthinkable again after entering the final quarter trailing by double digits. But New York wasn't solid enough this time -- especially on defense -- as Haliburton and Pascal Siakam took over down the stretch. - ESPN.com
Jalen Brunson and Towns combined for 55 points -- and had 19 trips to the free throw line -- on 50% shooting from the field. OG Anunoby became a second-half focal point offensively in the paint, and had an efficient 22-point effort. But the flipside was revealing: Haliburton and Siakam combined for 62 points and also shot 50%. Haliburton had a historic playoff stat line, becoming the first player in postseason history to log at least 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds without a turnover since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78, according to ESPN Research. Pacers reserve Bennedict Mathurin also had 20 points and took only eight shots. - ESPN.com
Haliburton acknowledged he was happy to have his father in attendance, but he was more proud of the way both he and the Pacers responded after losing Sunday. "I just want to be able to prove that I can respond when my back's against the wall, when our team's back is against the wall," he said. "This is a big win for us because if we go back down there 2-2, it's a little different momentum-wise." In addition to Haliburton's father, the Pacers brought out a plethora of former stars for the game, including Jermaine O'Neal, George Hill and Lance Stephenson, as well as celebrities such as WWE Hall of Famer Triple H, rapper 50 Cent and singers John Mellencamp and Jelly Roll to offset the usual crew of Knicks celebrity fans -- film director Spike Lee and actors Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller all made the trip to Indianapolis. - ESPN.com
With the Minnesota Timberwolves' season on the brink after one of the quietest offensive nights of the postseason for Anthony Edwards, their 23-year-old star defended his approach in Monday's 128-126 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. "I don't look at it like I struggled, or [Julius Randle] struggled," Edwards said. "They just, they had a good game plan, making us get off the ball. Especially for me, man. They were super in the gaps, I made the right play all night." Edwards had his second-lowest scoring total of the postseason with 16 points and tied his fewest shot attempts, finishing 5-for-13 from the field (1-for-7 on 3-pointers). - ESPN.com
"I don't really look at it like I struggled," Edwards continued. "I didn't get enough shots to say I struggled, so that might be how you guys look at it. But, yeah, I didn't struggle at all. I just made the right play." After scoring 30 points or more in the past two games, it's certainly fair to say Edwards was contained -- especially in the first half, when he scored only four points on 1-for-2 shooting. - ESPN.com
Ball pressure -- who engages it, where it is initiated and when teams decide to change it -- is the hidden story of the 2025 conference finals. By itself, ball pressure doesn't show up on the scoreboard or in the box score, but it affects every possession, alters offensive strategies and swings games. When controlling for how a possession begins -- because teams are more likely to be able to set up early pressure after an inbounds pass than after a live rebound, for instance -- the NBA as a whole has a 109 offensive rating when it faces backcourt pressure in these playoffs, as compared to a 111 offensive rating with no backcourt pressure. That's not a major difference. But every point counts in close playoff games, and there's plenty more team-to-team variation. Some teams thrive when applying more pressure on their opponents. In last year's East semifinals, the Pacers pressured New York's Jalen Brunson more than any other team pressured any other ball handler. Second on that leaderboard was the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Denver Nuggets' Jamal Murray in the Western Conference semifinals; third was the Timberwolves against Reggie Jackson, Murray's backup. - ESPN.com
Tyrese Haliburton's dad, John, will be allowed to attend Indiana Pacers home games in a suite, beginning with Tuesday's pivotal Game 4 against the New York Knicks, sources told ESPN on Monday. John Haliburton has not attended a game after it was decided he would not attend home or road contests following an on-court confrontation with Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on April 29. John Haliburton has missed eight games since the decision was made by the Pacers' front office, and he was understanding and accepting of that decision, according to sources. He will continue to remain away from road games, sources told ESPN. - ESPN.com
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