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The Indiana Pacers will make their seventh trip to the NBA Conference Finals, their first since 2014. They stunned the New York Knicks 130-109 in Game 7 at the Madison Square Garden on Sunday to win the series 4-3. With this, the East now has the Conference Finals contest matched up between the Pacers and the Boston Celtics. The latter beat the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers to make their fourth conference finals run in five years. Indiana is back after a decade and will mark its eighth East Conference Finals appearance in franchise history.
It was an all-round show in Game 7 by the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton led the side with 26 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam had 20 points each. Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner had 19 and 17 points, respectively, as all of their starters got into double-digits to propel the team to the next round.
How many times have the Indiana Pacers been to the NBA Conference Finals?
The last time the Indiana Pacers made the Conference Finals, they took on the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The Pacers had Lance Stephenson, David West, and Paul George in their ranks and were one of the more exciting teams to watch out for. They beat the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards in the first two rounds, leading up to the Conference Finals. However, they were outplayed 4-2 by the Heat.
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The next few playoff appearances for the Pacers ended with first-round exits. They have failed to make the postseason in the past three seasons, and are now on the cusp of making the NBA Finals should they get the better of the Celtics, who come in as heavy favorites. They also have the advantage of being well-rested and the homecourt advantage to put the pressure on the Pacers early on in the matchup.
Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals schedule:
The Pacers play the first two games away and will return to host the Celtics for Games 3 and 4. At the time of writing, the odds have the Pacers at +2500 and the Celtics at -165 leading up to the 2024 NBA Finals. Indiana is the underdog when compared to the Boston outfit that has Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis.
* Games 6 and 7 if necessary.
