Pascal Siakam appeared in Indiana against the New York Knicks as the Pacers made their first appearance in the NBA Finals in 25 years.
The Indiana Pacers scored a double double of 31 points from Pascal Siakam and 21 points from Tyrees Halliburton, beating the New York Knicks 125-108, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
The Pacers used the third quarter on Saturday to open close games and continue to put pressure on the fourth season, winning four games twice in the Best of 7 Eastern Conference Finals.
They reach the championship series for the second time in franchise history and chase their first title when the NBA Finals open in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
New York avoided elimination with the dominant defensive display in Game 5, but failed to send the series into the decisive game 7.
Instead, the Knicks, who won two NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, are looking for their first trip to the Finals since 1999.
Star forward Siakam was selected as the most valuable player (MVP) of the Eastern Conference Finals and bouncing off as the Knicks made a dominant defensive effort to expand the series after a disappointing outing in Game 5.
“After a bad game five, we wanted to bounce back,” Siakam said. “And I have a 100% belief in my teammates. Whenever we were down, we always found a way, and we did that tonight.”
Halliburton shook the struggles of early shooting to finish with 21 points and 13 assists as seven pacers scored on double figures.
This included 18 people from the bench from Obitoppin and 11 from backup Thomas Bryant as the Pacers’ reserves surpassed the Knicks’ 38-20 reserves.
“I’m really proud of this group,” Halliburton said. “We were showing our last game as a group, and we wanted to respond.
“We did an amazing job,” he added. “I’m very proud of this group. I don’t even have words at the moment.”
The Pacers go ahead on their home courts
OG Anunoby led the Knicks’ scoring with 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and handed out 7 assists.
However, Indiana emerged from the fast-paced first quarter, featuring five lead changes with a one-point lead, never kicking out again, plaguing New York with 18 turnovers that led to 34 pacer points.
Haliburton, who was scoreless in the first quarter, warmed up with the second eight points, one of New York’s first half turnovers, including a lightning dunk following the steal of teammate Andrew Nenbird.
Nenbird came up with another steal from Branson, giving Siakam a layup to push Indiana’s lead to six points before Anunoby drilled the basket in the final second of the first half to reduce the Knicks’ deficit to 58-54 on the break.
The Pacers opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run, pushing the lead to 15-point 78-63 with consecutive three-pointers from Nenbird and Bryant, frenziing the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd.
The Knicks quickly reverted the deficit to seven, but the Pacers managed to pull away once more to take a 92-77 lead in the fourth quarter.
Harriburton, who scored just 10 points in the first three quarters, added 11 to the final frame as the Pacers took over the house.
