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After John Mellencamp bashed Pat McAfee for his explicit hype-up speech for Indiana Pacers fans, a franchise legend appeared to take a side.
McAfee pumped up Pacers fans in the final minutes of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday, but it left Mellencamp “embarrassed.”
The former Indianapolis Colts punter called out celebrity Knicks fans Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee and Ben Stiller and told Pacers fans to “turn this s— up” and “send these sons of b—— back to New York with their ears ringing.”
Mellencamp mentioned that “somebody” used “poor sportsmanship.” He did not specifically mention McAfee by name, but it wasn’t exactly a secret, and McAfee replied on X that “I am somebody.”
Before calling Game 5 Thursday, Pacers legend Reggie Miller posted a video montage of him greeting Mellencamp that included Mellencamp’s hit song, “Jack & Diane.”
“Only real Hoosiers know what this man means to Indiana. Honored to call [Mellencamp] a true friend,” Miller wrote on Instagram. “From dinners, video shoots, tour bus jumping, to singing on stage, I’ve done it all with him. Nothing but unconditional [love] for him and his family, thank you for always being there for some of those late night calls to vent about basketball back in the day.. #JackAndDiane.”
The Pacers won Game 4 after McAfee took the mic to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, but the series is headed back to Indiana after the Knicks wiped the floor with the Pacers in Game 5.
Stiller challenged McAfee to attend Game 5 at New York’s Madison Square Garden Thursday, but McAfee said he was “not paying $70,000 for a ticket.”
Game 6 will be played Saturday night. With a win, it will be the Pacers’ first trip to the NBA Finals since 2000, when they also beat the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
If the Knicks manage to win the next two, it’ll be their first Finals appearance since 1999, when they beat the Pacers to get there.
The winner of the series will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, who will be playing for a championship for the first time since 2012.
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