The Indiana Pacers helped with a 31-point double for Pascal Siakam and a 21-point double for Tyrese Haliburton, beating the New York Knicks 125-108, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
The Pacers broke a close game in the third quarter Saturday and maintained pressure in the fourth stage to win the best finals of the seven-game East to reach two games.
They entered the championship series for the second time in franchise history, and they will chase their first title when the NBA Finals open in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
New York was eliminated by the advantageous defensive performance in Game 5, but could not bring the series into the decisive Game 7.
Instead, the Knicks won two NBA titles in 1970 and 1973 and he has been looking for his first finals trip since 1999.
Star forward Siakam was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Eastern Conference Finals, and after Game 5 disappointing outing, the Knicks expanded the series with dominant defensive efforts to bounce back.
“After a bad game, we wanted to rebound,” Sikam said. "And I have 100% faith in my teammates. Whenever we are disappointed, we always find a way - we did it tonight."
Haliburton shocked the early shooting efforts and ended the game with 21 points and 13 assists as seven Pacers scored in double figures.
These included Obi Toppin's bench and backup Thomas Bryant's 11 as the Pacers outpaced the Knicks' reserves 38-20.
“I’m very proud of this group,” Halliburton said. “As a group, we all performed well in our last game. We wanted to respond.
"We did a great job," he added. "I'm proud of this group and now I have nothing to say."
Pacers stay at home
OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson scored 19 points and distributed seven assists.
But a fast-paced first quarter of Indiana came in, with five lead changes with a one-point lead and never lagging behind, causing 18 turnovers in New York and resulting in 34 Pacers points.
Haliburton scored no points in the first quarter, scoring eight points in the second quarter, including a steal from teammate Andrew Nembhard, one of New York's 10 first-half turnovers.
Nembhard raised another steal from Brunson and fed Siakam a layup to raise Indiana's lead to six points before drilling a rim in the last half of the first half to cut the Knicks' deficit to 58-54 at the break.
The Pacers opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run and raised their lead to 15 points, or 78-63, sending the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd into the crazy game on back-to-back three-pointers from Nembhard and Bryant.
The Knicks quickly cut the deficit to seven, just letting the Pacers exit again and leading 92-77 to the fourth quarter.
Halliburton had only 10 points in the first three quarters, adding 11 points in the last frame as the Pacers returned home.
