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Charles Barkley Issues Serious Warning to Pacers on Saturday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 31, 2025 9:13 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers are playing in the most important game of their season thus far on Saturday night. They host the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals up 3-2 in the series and just one win away from booking their spot in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

At the same time, however, a loss for Indiana will mark their second straight defeat in this series, and will allow the Knicks to force a Game 7 in Madison Square Garden on Monday.

According to NBA on TNT's Charles Barkley, that's the last thing the Pacers want right now. In fact, the Hall of Fame has implied that Game 6 is a must-win contest for Indiana.

"They better play with desperation tonight because If they do not win this game, they got an (expletive)-kickin' coming Monday night," Barkley said ahead of tip off on Saturday.

"If they do not win this game, they got an ass-kickin' coming Monday night."

Chuck with a warning for the Pacers ahead of Game 6 ️ pic.twitter.com/0xaJjqqLKY
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 31, 2025

There's no denying that the Pacers are in the driver's seat in Game 6, especially considering how they're playing in front of a capacity home crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

This will be their first opportunity to close this series out at home after losing Game 5 in MSG on Thursday.

The Knicks, however, have momentum on their side after their 111-94 victory in Game 5, and they firmly believe that they are capable of winning this series despite going down 1-3 after Game 4.

Everything will be on the line for both teams on Saturday night, but as Barkley implied, he is adamant that the pressure is on the Pacers to close this one out.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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