2014 Eastern Conference Finals vs Atlanta Hawks

Lore & Background

What made this series legendary was not just the talent on display but the sheer, unfiltered hostility between the two clubs. The Hawks, a young and electric group built around Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, and Kyle Korver, played with a swagger that rubbed the Pacers the wrong way. Indiana, anchored by Paul George, David West, Roy Hibbert, and George Hill, answered with a physicality that turned every possession into a minor war. The series produced a game so violent and chaotic—dubbed the 'punch-up' game by the national media—that multiple players on both sides were ejected, and the NBA was forced to issue suspensions. It became a cultural moment far beyond basketball, a reminder that the sport's competitive fire could still produce scenes straight out of a 1990s rivalry.

In Their Own Story

The arena in Indianapolis was already humming before tip-off. The Hawks' warmup music bled through the PA system, and somewhere in the third row a kid in a size-three Korver jersey was bouncing a ball against the barrier, laughing. Then the Pacers came out, and the noise shifted. It wasn't a cheer. It was a growl. Paul George walked to the free-throw line, wiped his hands, and looked up at the jumbotron as if daring the camera to find something in his eyes. He found it. The crowd found it. The game hadn't started, and the war already had.

Reader's Guide

May 2014 | Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 | Indiana Pacers vs. A Hawks possession ends in a missed Korver three, and the rebound battle in the paint turns ugly. Al Horford and Roy Hibbert are chest-to-chest, shoving, and suddenly Paul George is between them, arms up, jaw set. Then it's a scramble—Jeff Teague, David West, Lance Stephenson, Paul Millsap—all in a tangle of limbs and jerseys near the baseline. A punch connects. The referee's whistle is a thin, distant sound. Two players are pulled off the floor. A third is ejected. The crowd noise does not drop; it rises, a confused, thunderous wave of shock and adrenaline that swallows the arena. On the broadcast, the analyst's voice cracks slightly: "This has gone beyond basketball—this is personal." In the stands, a woman in a Pacers cap is crying, not from sadness but from the sheer, electric disbelief of watching her team fight like this and still stand. The series is not over. The Finals are not over. But in this one ugly, beautiful minute, the 2014 Pacers became something more than a roster. They became a story you could feel in your teeth.

Did You Know?

• The 2014 ECF punch-up game resulted in multiple player ejections and subsequent NBA suspensions, making it one of the most penalized games in modern playoff history.
• Paul George's 2013–14 season was his first as a true franchise cornerstone, and the Eastern Conference Finals was the high-water mark of that breakout year before the Spurs ended the run in the Finals.
• The 2014 Pacers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals (4–1) remains the franchise's most recent appearance in the NBA Finals.
• The 2014 Atlanta Hawks roster—featuring Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver—represented one of the youngest and most talented cores in franchise history, making the one-game-short-of-the-Finals finish