What impressed Magic Johnson in Pacers’ wild Game 6 win vs. Knicks

The Indiana Pacers forced a Game 7 with their bounce-back win over the New York Knicks on Friday, and it’s set the internet buzzing. Among those who reacted to the team’s Game 6 victory was Magic Johnson, and he specifically stated that he was impressed with Indiana’s defense.

“I was really impressed with Pacers’ defense in tonight’s 116-103 victory, and the driving kick game on offense was off the charts,” Johnson posted on X.

The game was close at first, until the Pacers started a second-quarter rally that put them ahead for good. In those 12 minutes before halftime, Indiana’s defense held New York to 7-of-21 (33.3%) shooting from the floor. The Pacers also outscored the Knicks 32-21 to take a double-digit lead at the half.

Indiana would stay in front for the rest of the night, ballooning the lead to as much as 23 at one point. Pascal Siakam led the scoring with 25 points, while five other players in the team finished in double-digits. This was also something that Johnson took notice of.

“Six Pacers ended in double-figures and they destroyed the Knicks in the paint! Paschal Siakam led with 25 points and 7 rebounds followed by Myles Turner’s 17 points and 7 rebounds,” Johnson added, in a separate post.

Speaking of destruction in the paint, it seemed like Indiana had enough of New York’s scrapiness on the boards. Back in Game 5, the Pacers were severely outrebounded. This time around, they took control, outrebounding the Knicks 47-35. The Pacers also scored a total of 62 points in the paint due to their balanced team effort.

Behind Siakam and Turner, the team’s main rotation of guards contributed greatly as well. Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell all scored 15 points each, and again, Magic Johnson couldn’t help but give his two cents on this.

“Tyrese Haliburton added 15 points and 9 assists but TJ McConnell was the spark plug for the Pacers tonight. He came off the bench and scored 15!” the Hall of Famer posted.

Funnily enough, Johnson did have one more tweet about the clash, churning out a total of four posts about Game 6.

“The Pacers got their payback and embarrassed the Knicks tonight! Coach Rick Carlisle did a masterful job preparing his team to play”

It’s hard to blame Johnson for being enthusiastic about the win. After all, it was do-or-die for the Pacers on Friday. Entering the game, Indiana was down 3-2 after getting blown out by 30 points in Game 5. A number of fans already counted them out, based on their sluggish showing days ago. However, the Pacers played Game 6 with their backs against the wall.

More to follow*