Pacers punch ticket to NBA Finals after 25-year drought
The Indiana Pacers are heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, ending a 25-year wait that had fans holding their breath until the final buzzer.
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam took over when it mattered most, powering the Pacers to a decisive 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 6 on Saturday night.
Siakam was unstoppable, pouring in 31 points to lead all scorers.
Haliburton saved his best for last, scoring 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter while dishing out 13 assists throughout the game.
“Pascal and Tyrese put us on their backs and made sure we would not lose,” said coach Rick Carlisle after the game. “But our work has just begun.”
The win clinched the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2, setting up a championship showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder that begins Thursday evening.
For his dominant performance throughout the series, Siakam earned the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference finals MVP.
Former Knick Obi Toppin added salt to New York’s wounds, contributing 18 points and six rebounds against the team that traded him away.
The Pacers showed remarkable resilience all night. Every time the Knicks made a run, Indiana had an answer.
When New York strung together eight straight points to cut the deficit to 78-71, the Pacers responded with a 9-0 run of their own, pushing their lead to the largest of the game.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau struggled to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. “There were stretches where we played very good defense and stretches where we didn’t,” he told reporters after the game. “I think once you dig into it and you look at it, was it our defense? Or was it our turnovers? I think it was probably a combination of both.”
This marks just the second NBA Finals appearance in Pacers franchise history.
Carlisle, who last won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, made sure to temper the celebration.
“This is no time to be popping champagne,” he warned. “When you get to this point of the season, it’s two teams and it’s one goal. So it becomes an all or nothing thing and we understand the magnitude of it.”
The basketball world now turns its attention to Thursday’s Finals opener, where Indiana will try to capture the first NBA championship in franchise history.
