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Charles Barkley proved to be an accurate prognosticator for Game 5 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals, quoting Hoosier standouts the Jackson 5 at the beginning of Thursday’s matchup between the Pacers and Knicks in Manhattan: “We’re going back to Indiana.”
Everyone who entered Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Thursday’s free Game 5 watch party could see that Barkley’s employer, cable TV network TNT, wasn’t counting on the Pacers to win the series 4-1.
Two stages for TNT’s “Inside the NBA” show—one in the entry pavilion and one in the arena—weren’t dismantled after the Pacers defeated the Knicks on Tuesday. The sets are in place for Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith and Game 6 on Saturday.
Game 6 shifted from “if necessary” to a certainty on Thursday, when the Knicks never trailed and handed the Pacers a 111-94 defeat.
More than 10,000 people claimed free tickets to the watch party, which lacked opportunities for full-throated sports bedlam among Pacers’ faithful.
Perhaps the loudest reactions arrived before tipoff, when the TNT telecast displayed on Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s 40-million-pixel scoreboard cycled through live shots of Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, Pascal Siakam, Karl-Anthony Towns, Ben Stiller and Myles Turner.
If a guide is needed, that played out in Indianapolis as cheer, boo, cheer, boo, boo and cheer.
Michelle De Lo Santos, a 19-year-old Indianapolis resident, expressed optimism before the game.
“I think the Pacers will win,” said De Lo Santos, who collected one of the free T-shirts handed out on the arena’s concourse. “I don’t really know how basketball works. Maybe by five points?”
The watch party unfolded as a mix between TNT’s offerings (which included analyst and fieldhouse favorite Reggie Miller) and a homecourt perspective.
The Pacemates and the Pacers Hype Crew of hip-hop dancers performed during timeouts, and postgame radio host Eddie White and TV play-by-play ace Chris Denari each addressed the crowd from the court.
Denari drew the unenviable assignment of sharing hard truths about how things were shaping up for the Pacers as the Knicks’ lead bulged from quarter to quarter.
Most of the crowd stuck around in hopes of a comeback until the score showed a 104-88 difference with less than 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Lashonda Johnson, a 51-year-old Indianapolis resident, didn’t take the loss too hard.
“I love their teamwork,” Johnson said of the Pacers. “I see them working cohesively.”
On Saturday, the Pacers will have their next chance to close out the Knicks and retire two stages used by TNT—which will wrap up 35 years of having NBA media rights after the Eastern Conference finals.
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As a long time follower of the Pacers, we’ve reached the part where the Pacers always flame out. I fully expected them to lose this series and that’s exactly what they are going to do.