25 years had to go by since the last time the Pacers made it to the NBA Finals, as Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam led the charge in Game 6 to guarantee their ticket after beating the Knicks on Saturday night. The Eastern Conference Finals ended 4-2 in Indiana‘s favor.
While their big man dropped in 31 points, and his co-star hit 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, the home squad defeated New York 125-108. This is now only their second time in franchise history that they’ve qualified for the final stages, as they first trip happened in 2000.
The series against Oklahoma City will start this upcoming Thursday evening. “Pascal and Tyrese put us on their backs and made sure we would not lose,” said coach Rick Carlisle about the last minutes of Game 6 against the Knicks. “But our work has just begun.”
While Siakam earned himself the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference finals MVP, Haliburton also contributed with 13 assists and Obi Toppin added 18 points and six rebounds against his former squad this weekend.
“There were stretches where we played very good defense and stretches where we didn’t,” rival coach Tom Thibodeau told the press postgame. “I think once you dig into it and you look at is, was it our defense? Or was it our turnovers? I think it was probably a combination of both.”
Every time the Knicks made a run, the Pacers would react just the same. For example, as New York made eight-straight point to cut the deficit 78-71, Indiana responded with another 9-0 run to extend their lead to the biggest of the game.
“This is no time to be popping champagne,” shared Carlisle, who last won the title as coach in 2011 with the Mavericks. “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.”
