Indiana coach Rick Carlisle offered an impassioned and somewhat unprompted defense of referee Scott Foster on Sunday, evidently aware of the mountains of online criticism that came after Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The game plan was the obvious one.

Tyrese Haliburton had 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds without a turnover in a sensational postseason performance to lead the Indiana Pacers past the New York Knicks 130-121 on Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Austin Pettijohn came to Sunday's Indianapolis 500 dressed appropriately — in checkered flag shorts and an Indiana Pacers jersey.

Pascal Siakam scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers tied an NBA playoff record by taking a 41-point halftime lead before routing the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 129-109 on Sunday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Myles Turner scored 23 points and the Indiana Pacers won 129-103 to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Indiana Pacers took the floor in Minnesota without four starters, including stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam.

Pascal Siakam made a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help the Indiana Pacers beat the reeling Atlanta Hawks 132-127 on Saturday night.

Victor Wembanyama scored 30 points in his first NBA game on his native French soil, Devin Vassell added 25 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers 140-110.

Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and nine rebounds and the Indiana Pacers ended NBA-leading Cleveland’s winning streak at 12 games, beating the Cavaliers 108-93 on Sunday night.

Obi Toppin scored 21 points, T.

Obi Toppin broke a tie on a putback with 3.4 seconds left and the Indiana Pacers spoiled Devin Booker’s 62-point night, overcoming a 17-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 133-131 on Friday.

Tyrese Haliburton had 27 points and 13 assists and the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 on Thursday to advance to the championship game int the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 23 points, and the Indiana Pacers routed the San Antonio Spurs 152-111 for coach Rick Carlisle’s 900th career victory.

The New York Knicks are trading Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers, dealing away a former lottery pick who was loved by fans but never as much by coach Tom Thibodeau.

Tougher from start to finish, the New York Knicks bullied the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Milwaukee Bucks remained unbeaten with a 119-108 victory over the New York Knicks.

Kevin Durant had 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, leading the Brooklyn Nets back from 21 points down to a 110-98 victory over the New York Knicks that strengthened their chances of the best spot possible in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

Kevin Durant scored a season-high 53 points, making the tiebreaking 3-pointer in a sensational show for a crowd that included Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the New York Knicks 110-107.

Cam Johnson banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish with a career-high 38 points and give the Phoenix Suns a wild 115-114 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Karl-Anthony Towns gave big men everywhere something to shoot for.

The NBA’s All-Star weekend is about fashion and fun, Saturday night slams and celebrating the very best in the game today.

Giannis Antetokounmpo will team up with two of his brothers to compete in a revamped Skills Challenge during the NBA’s All-Star Saturday night.

Duncan Robinson scored 25 points while shooting 7 of 11 from 3-point range to lead four Miami players with 20 or more points in the Heat’s 110-96 victory over the New York Knicks.

Evan Fournier scored 26 points, Immanuel Quickley had 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter after New York had blown a 25-point lead, and the Knicks beat a Los Angeles Lakers team missing suspended star LeBron James 106-100.

Freshman Trevor Keels scored 25 points and classmate Paolo Banchero added 22 to help No. 9 Duke beat 10th-ranked Kentucky 79-71 in the nightcap of the Champions Classic.

Julius Randle scored 35 points, Evan Fournier made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the second overtime and the New York Knicks outlasted Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics 138-134.

Julius Randle had 31 points and 10 rebounds, RJ Barrett had 25 points and 12 boards, and the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors 120-103 for their ninth straight victory.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, shoots as Phoenix Suns forward Dario Saric defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)ATLANTA – It's the NBA All-Star Game almost no one seemed to want. "It’s the All-Star Game, so there’s going to be some shenanigans out there. Team LeBron will play on behalf of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, while Team Durant represents the United Negro College Fund. Trae Young, a starter in 2020, was snubbed this season despite averaging 26.4 points — the most of any player not selected for the All-Star Game.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Phoenix’s Devin Booker have been 3-point champions at All-Star weekend before, and they’ll try to win that trophy again Sunday. The NBA revealed the 15 players Tuesday who will be taking part in the other on-court events besides the All-Star Game in Atlanta, with the overwhelming majority of them pulling double-duty between those competitions and the game itself. They’ll be joined by Portland’s Robert Covington, the only current NBA player who is a graduate of a historically Black college and university. It will be held at halftime of the All-Star Game, while the skills competition and 3-point contest will occur pregame. Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio and Toronto have no one participating in All-Star night events.

New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose looks to pass the ball as Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson (55) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI – The first thing Derrick Rose did in his second stint with the New York Knicks was start handing out assists. Rose made his second Knicks debut Tuesday night in Miami, scoring 14 points in 20 minutes in New York's 98-96 loss to the Heat. Rose won the 2011 NBA MVP award, capping his first season under Thibodeau and a 62-20 season for the Bulls. “I think he’s in great shape.

After boosting his stock with an outstanding junior season that got cut short, Garza heads the list of star seniors gearing up for the 2020-21 campaign. The 6-10 forward averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds, up from 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds as a sophomore. KANSAS G MARCUS GARRETTGarrett averaged 9.2 points last season, but his biggest contributions come on the other end of the floor. VILLANOVA G COLLIN GILLESPIEThis 6-3 guard averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals last season. GONZAGA F COREY KISPERTThe 6-foot-7 Kispert earned preseason AP All-America honors as he begins his final season with the top-ranked Bulldogs.

1 overall pick in the NBA draft on Nov. 18, 2020. After multiple delays, the NBA draft finally arrives Wednesday. The draft is usually held in June in New York, where Adam Silver announces the first-round picks. It's not the draft night they wanted, but the excitement of becoming a pro player won't diminish. But at the same time, this extra time, it’s only helping me,” said forward Obi Toppin, the national college player of the year from Dayton.

FILE - Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the West Coast Conference men's tournament in Las Vegas, in this Tuesday, March 10, 2020, file photo. Gonzaga will begin the college basketball season No. 1 for the first time after coach Mark Few's bunch earned 28 first-place votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Iowa was picked fifth behind national player of the year front-runner Luka Garza, its highest preseason ranking in school history. The Bears, who also have their highest preseason ranking, spent five weeks at No. THE REST OF THE POLLCreighton lost Ty-Shon Alexander to the NBA and Davion Mintz to Kentucky but still landed the highest preseason ranking in school history at No. 17, its highest preseason ranking since the final Phi Slama Jama team of Hakeem Olajuwon began the 1983-84 season at No. 6 in the final poll last season but losing Mountain West player of the year Malachi Flynn and two other elite producers.