Pascal Siakam, Pacers knock out Knicks in Eastern Conference finals
Pascal Siakam recorded 31 points and three blocked shots and the Indiana Pacers are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 after notching a 125-108 victory over the visiting New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night at Indianapolis.
Siakam was voted the Eastern Conference finals MVP. Tyrese Haliburton added 21 points, 13 assists and three steals for fourth-seeded Indiana. Obi Toppin added 18 points off the bench and Andrew Nembhard had 14 points and six steals for the Pacers.
Indiana will face the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. Game 1 is Thursday at Oklahoma City,
OG Anunoby scored 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 14 rebounds for third-seeded New York. Jalen Brunson had 19 points and seven assists and Mikal Bridges had 15 points for the Knicks.
Indiana had a 25-10 edge on fastbreak points to finish the series with a dominating 106-48 in that category.
The Pacers shot 54.1 percent from the field, including a solid 17 of 33 from 3-point range . Myles Turner and reserve Thomas Bryant had 11 points apiece and Aaron Nesmith added 10 for the Pacers.
New York made 47.7 percent of its shots and was 9 of 32 from behind the arc. Landry Shamet had 12 points on four treys off the bench.
New York trailed by 15 entering the final quarter but a basket by Towns and two in a row by Anunoby pulled the Knicks within 92-83 with 10:15 remaining.
Haliburton then took over as he scored 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the final stanza.
The Pacers pushed the lead back to 14 on a basket by Nembhard with 8:26 left.
Later, a basket by Haliburton and a 3-pointer by Nembhard made it 113-94 with 4:22 left.
Siakam later made two free throws to make it 120-99 with 1:52 left as New York waved the white flag.
Indiana led by four at the break but started the third quarter with 3-pointers by Siakam and Nesmith and a three-point play by Siakam to take a 67-54 lead.
The Knicks were within 69-61 after Brunson's basket with 8:53 left in the period before Bryant and Nembhard combined for three treys in 86 seconds as the Pacers grabbed a 78-63 advantage with 6:44 remaining in the quarter.
Haliburton later ended the third with a dunk as the Pacers had a 34-23 edge over the 12 minutes to expand their lead to 92-77.
Siakam scored 16 first-half points to help the Pacers hold a 58-54 lead at the break. Anunoby scored 14 in the half for New York.
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