Incredible Indiana

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Indiana Pacers, fueled by 31 points from Pascal Siakam and a 21-point double-double from Tyrese Haliburton, beat the New York Knicks 125-108 on Saturday to reach the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals for the first time since 2000.

The Pacers used a big third quarter to break open a close game and kept the pressure on in the fourth period to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 4-2.

They reached the championship series for the second time in franchise history, and will be chasing their first title when the Finals open in Oklahoma City on Thursday.

Haliburton said the series triumph was especially sweet after the Pacers were swept in the conference finals last season by eventual champions Boston.

“You know, we got to the same spot last year, fell short and we just worked our tails off as a group to get back here,” he said. “It’s been a bumpy road with our start and (I’m) just really proud of the resilience of this group.”

He was already looking ahead to the formidable challenge of the Thunder, who led the league with 68 regular season wins and saw star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named Most Valuable Player (MVP).

“It’s an exciting time, but we understand that there’s a long road ahead, a lot more work to do,” Haliburton said. “We’ve got four more to go.”

New York had fended off elimination with a dominant defensive display in game five, but couldn’t send the series to a decisive game seven.

Instead the Knicks, who earned their two NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, remain in search of their first trip to the Finals since 1999.

Siakam, who won a title with Toronto in 2019, was named MVP of the series, bouncing back after a disappointing outing in game five, when the Knicks used a dominating defensive effort to extend the series.

“After a bad game five, we wanted to bounce back,” said Siakam, who added five rebounds and three blocked shots on Saturday.

“And I have 100 percent belief in my teammates. Whenever we’re down, we always find a way — and we did that tonight.”

Haliburton shook off early shooting struggles to finish with 21, adding 13 assists to key an offensive effort that saw seven Pacers players score in double figures.

That included 18 off the bench from Obi Toppin and 11 from backup Thomas Bryant as the Pacers reserves outscored the Knicks reserves 38-20.

“I’m really proud of this group,” Haliburton said. “We had a tough showing last game as a group. We wanted to respond.

“We did a great job of that,” he added. “I’m just so proud of this group and I don’t even have words right now.”