Pacers race past Knicks to punch Finals ticket

INDIANAPOLIS -- Pascal Siakam scored 31 points, Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points and 13 assists, and the Indiana Pacers pulled distant for a 125-108 triumph implicit the New York Knicks successful Game 6 connected Saturday nighttime to scope the NBA Finals for the 2nd clip successful franchise history.

Obi Toppin added 18 points and six rebounds against his erstwhile squad arsenic the gold-clad assemblage gave the starters a roaring ovation erstwhile they departed with 47.2 seconds left.

Siakam was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP for his show successful the series, narrowly beating retired Haliburton successful the voting.

OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds, portion Jalen Brunson added 19 points arsenic the Pacers' relentless shot unit forced New York into 17 turnovers.

The Knicks inactive person not reached the Finals since 1999, and they couldn't widen the bid successful a crippled that was pugnacious and carnal close from the start.

Whether it was Towns limping aft drafting a foul oregon Haliburton holding his jaw erstwhile helium took a changeable that knocked him to the ground, the code was acceptable aboriginal -- and ne'er truly changed with truthful overmuch astatine stake.

Indiana yet broke unfastened a adjacent crippled by opening the 2nd fractional connected a 9-0 tally to instrumentality a 78-63 pb courtesy of 3 consecutive 3-pointers -- 2 from Thomas Bryant and 1 from Andrew Nembhard. The tally ignited the crowd, which included everyone from Colts backmost Anthony Richardson to WNBA prima Caitlin Clark to Timothee Chalamet to Kylie Jenner.

But erstwhile the Knicks answered with 8 consecutive to chopped the shortage to 78-71, the Pacers responded with different 9-0 tally to instrumentality their biggest pb of the crippled and the Knicks were forced to play catch-up the remainder of the night.

Pacers prima and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was connected the 1999-2000 Pacers squad that made The Finals, served arsenic the colour expert for TNT's last broadcast.

New York was trying to go the 14th squad successful league past to rally from a 3-1 shortage to triumph a series. It hasn't won a rubric since 1973.

Indiana volition sojourn Oklahoma City for Game 1 connected Thursday night, wherever the Thunder volition beryllium overwhelming favorites. They were installed astatine -750 favorites to triumph the series, with the Pacers listed arsenic +525 underdogs astatine ESPN BET. In the past 20 years, lone the 2018 Golden State Warriors (-1075 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers) had shorter likelihood heading into the Finals than this year's Thunder, according to ESPN Research.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.