INDIANAPOLIS — Pascal Siakam scored 31 factors, Tyrese Haliburton had 21 factors and 13 assists, and the Indiana Pacers pulled away for a 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks in Recreation 6 on Saturday night time to achieve the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise historical past.
Obi Toppin added 18 factors and 6 rebounds in opposition to his former group because the gold-clad crowd gave the starters a roaring ovation once they departed with 47.2 seconds left.
Siakam was named Jap Convention Finals MVP for his efficiency within the collection, narrowly beating out Haliburton within the voting.
OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 24 factors. Karl-Anthony Cities had 22 factors and 14 rebounds, whereas Jalen Brunson added 19 factors because the Pacers’ relentless ball stress pressured New York into 17 turnovers.
The Knicks nonetheless haven’t reached the Finals since 1999, and so they could not prolong the collection in a recreation that was robust and bodily proper from the beginning.
Whether or not it was Cities limping after drawing a foul or Haliburton holding his jaw when he took a shot that knocked him to the bottom, the tone was set early — and by no means actually modified with a lot at stake.
Indiana lastly broke open an in depth recreation by opening the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 78-63 lead courtesy of three straight 3-pointers — two from Thomas Bryant and one from Andrew Nembhard. The run ignited the group, which included everybody from Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to WNBA star Caitlin Clark to Timothee Chalamet to Kylie Jenner.
However when the Knicks answered with eight straight to chop the deficit to 78-71, the Pacers responded with one other 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the sport and the Knicks have been pressured to play catch-up the remainder of the night time.
Pacers star and Corridor of Famer Reggie Miller, who was on the 1999-2000 Pacers group that made The Finals, served as the colour analyst for TNT’s last broadcast.
New York was making an attempt to develop into the 14th group in league historical past to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a collection. It hasn’t received a title since 1973.
Indiana will go to Oklahoma Metropolis for Recreation 1 on Thursday night time, the place the Thunder will probably be overwhelming favorites. They have been put in at -750 favorites to win the collection, with the Pacers listed as +525 underdogs at ESPN BET. Within the final 20 years, solely the 2018 Golden State Warriors (-1075 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers) had shorter odds heading into the Finals than this 12 months’s Thunder, in line with ESPN Analysis.
The Related Press contributed to this story.
