Pacers cruise past OKC to force game seven
Obi Toppin scored 20 points off the bench to lead a balanced offensive effort as the Indiana Pacers evened the NBA Finals with a 108-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six today in Indianapolis.
The Finals will go to a winner-take-all seventh game for the first time since 2016.
Game seven is Monday (NZT) in Oklahoma City.
There was little drama today, as Indiana jumped ahead in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead.
Andrew Nembhard added 17 points while Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds to move the Pacers within one win of their first NBA title. Tyrese Haliburton, playing through a calf injury, had 14 points and five assists, and T.J. McConnell contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Indiana forced 21 turnovers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but had a playoff career-worst eight turnovers and just two assists. Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in game five, finished with just 16 points.
Trailing by 30 entering the final quarter, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault pulled his starters, opting to save them for game seven.
Oklahoma City shot just 8-for-30 (26.7%) from beyond the arc — 1-for-11 in the first half.
The Thunder put up their lowest point total of the regular season or postseason. Their previous low was 92 in a second-round game four win over the Denver Nuggets.
The Pacers took control in the second quarter, turning the tables on the Thunder.
Oklahoma City won game four and five the same way it had plenty of others this season — by turning up the pressure on defense and using that to fuel its offense.
Over the final eight-plus minutes before halftime, Indiana's defense led the way on a 30-9 run to go into halftime with a 64-42 lead.
The Pacers scored 11 of their 36 second-quarter points off the Thunder's seven turnovers.
Haliburton, who had struggled early in games for much of the series even before straining his right calf early in game five, helped set the defensive tone for Indiana.
In the final minute of the half, Haliburton elevated near the sideline for a steal off Williams' pass, then quickly fired to Siakam as he was falling out of bounds.
Siakam finished off the play with an emphatic dunk to stretch the lead to 20. Then he grabbed a rebound off a Chet Holmgren miss on the other end and buried an 18-footer just before the buzzer to send the Pacers into the locker room with a commanding lead.
Indiana, which committed 23 turnovers in game give had just two first-half turnovers today.
The Pacers were slow to get started on offense, going nearly four minutes into the game without a field goal and missing their first eight shots while falling behind 10-2.
But it didn't take long for Indiana to close the gap, scoring eight consecutive points to tie the game less than a minute after hitting its first field goal.
Moments later, the Pacers took the lead for the first time and what proved to be for good.
After going without a field goal in game five, Haliburton missed his first four shots Thursday before taking a quick feed from Myles Turner off an offensive rebound and burying a three-pointer with just more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter to put Indiana up 24-17.
The Pacers continued to stretch their lead in the third, holding Oklahoma City to just 18 points.
Indiana's James Johnson was ejected in the final minute after an altercation with Oklahoma City's Isaiah Joe.
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Basketball: Pacers cruise past Thunder, send Finals to Game 7
The two teams' stars struggled in Game 6, with an injured Haliburton managing just 14 points, while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21, but had eight turnovers. Photo: AFP / MADDIE MEYER Obi Toppin scored 20 off the bench to lead a balanced offensive effort as the Indiana Pacers evened the NBA Finals with a 108-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 on Thursday in Indianapolis. The Finals will go to a winner-take-all seventh game for the first time since 2016. Game 7 is Sunday in Oklahoma City. There was little drama Thursday, as Indiana jumped ahead in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. Andrew Nembhard added 17 points while Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds to move the Pacers within one win of their first NBA title. Tyrese Haliburton, playing through a calf injury, had 14 points and five assists, and T.J. McConnell contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Indiana forced 21 turnovers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but had a playoff career-worst eight turnovers and just two assists. Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in Game 5, finished with just 16 points. Trailing by 30 entering the final quarter, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault pulled his starters, opting to save them for Game 7. Oklahoma City shot just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc - 1-for-11 in the first half. The Pacers took control in the second quarter, turning the tables on the Thunder. Oklahoma City won Games 4 and 5 the same way it had plenty of others this season - by turning up the pressure on defence and using that to fuel its offence. Over the final eight-minutes plus before halftime, Indiana's defence led the way on a 30-9 run to go into halftime with a 64-42 lead. The Pacers scored 11 of their 36 second-quarter points off the Thunder's seven turnovers. Haliburton, who had struggled early in games for much of the series even before straining his right calf early in Game 5, helped set the defensive tone for Indiana. In the final minute of the half, Haliburton elevated near the sideline for a steal off a Williams' pass, then quickly fired to Siakam as he was falling out of bounds. Siakam finished off the play with an emphatic dunk to stretch the lead to 20, then grabbed a rebound off a Chet Holmgren miss on the other end and buried an 18-footer just before the buzzer to send the Pacers into the locker room with a commanding lead. Indiana, which committed 23 turnovers in Game 5, had just two first-half turnovers on Thursday. The Pacers were slow-to-get-started on offence, going nearly four minutes into the game without a field goal and missing their first eight shots while falling behind 10-2. But it didn't take long for Indiana to close the gap, scoring eight consecutive points to tie the game less than a minute after hitting its first field goal. Moments later, the Pacers took the lead for the first time and what proved to be for good. After going without a field goal in Game 5, Haliburton missed his first four shots Thursday before taking a quick feed from Myles Turner off an offensive rebound and burying a 3-pointer with just more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter to put Indiana up 24-17. The Pacers continued to stretch their lead in the third, holding Oklahoma City to just 18 points. Indiana's James Johnson was ejected in the final minute after an altercation with Oklahoma City's Isaiah Joe. - Field Level Media
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
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Pacers cruise past OKC to force game seven
Obi Toppin scored 20 points off the bench to lead a balanced offensive effort as the Indiana Pacers evened the NBA Finals with a 108-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six today in Indianapolis. The Finals will go to a winner-take-all seventh game for the first time since 2016. Game seven is Monday (NZT) in Oklahoma City. There was little drama today, as Indiana jumped ahead in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. Andrew Nembhard added 17 points while Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds to move the Pacers within one win of their first NBA title. Tyrese Haliburton, playing through a calf injury, had 14 points and five assists, and T.J. McConnell contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Indiana forced 21 turnovers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but had a playoff career-worst eight turnovers and just two assists. Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in game five, finished with just 16 points. Trailing by 30 entering the final quarter, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault pulled his starters, opting to save them for game seven. Oklahoma City shot just 8-for-30 (26.7%) from beyond the arc — 1-for-11 in the first half. The Thunder put up their lowest point total of the regular season or postseason. Their previous low was 92 in a second-round game four win over the Denver Nuggets. The Pacers took control in the second quarter, turning the tables on the Thunder. Oklahoma City won game four and five the same way it had plenty of others this season — by turning up the pressure on defense and using that to fuel its offense. Over the final eight-plus minutes before halftime, Indiana's defense led the way on a 30-9 run to go into halftime with a 64-42 lead. The Pacers scored 11 of their 36 second-quarter points off the Thunder's seven turnovers. Haliburton, who had struggled early in games for much of the series even before straining his right calf early in game five, helped set the defensive tone for Indiana. In the final minute of the half, Haliburton elevated near the sideline for a steal off Williams' pass, then quickly fired to Siakam as he was falling out of bounds. Siakam finished off the play with an emphatic dunk to stretch the lead to 20. Then he grabbed a rebound off a Chet Holmgren miss on the other end and buried an 18-footer just before the buzzer to send the Pacers into the locker room with a commanding lead. Indiana, which committed 23 turnovers in game give had just two first-half turnovers today. The Pacers were slow to get started on offense, going nearly four minutes into the game without a field goal and missing their first eight shots while falling behind 10-2. But it didn't take long for Indiana to close the gap, scoring eight consecutive points to tie the game less than a minute after hitting its first field goal. Moments later, the Pacers took the lead for the first time and what proved to be for good. After going without a field goal in game five, Haliburton missed his first four shots Thursday before taking a quick feed from Myles Turner off an offensive rebound and burying a three-pointer with just more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter to put Indiana up 24-17. The Pacers continued to stretch their lead in the third, holding Oklahoma City to just 18 points. Indiana's James Johnson was ejected in the final minute after an altercation with Oklahoma City's Isaiah Joe.
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Super Rugby Pacific final: Crusaders look for 15th title in sold-out match
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