The stars come out as the Pacers run to the Finals

The Pacers are going to the NBA Finals

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

I told you, I write WINS not tragedies.

The first play was for Siakam to attack Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson through an inverted action and Aaron Nesmith slips wide open to the bucket. Nice. Brunson shook loose for two lefty finishes on the other side though, and had the better start in general. However, the Pacers responded quick, and well. A BLOB found Siakam for a triple, and he got out in transition for a make after that. Nesmith and Myles Turner hit from downtown. A defensive adjustment to slide Nembhard onto Brunson and provide 94 feet of pressure worked for a stretch, as the Knicks hunted that matchup to the tune of 4 missed shots. 

15-11, Pacers. 

Turner was having trouble with Mitchell Robinson, and a lot of it. Robinson had 6 offensive rebounds in the first 7 minutes. A lifesaver for the Knicks, and a boost that helped set them up swipe the lead back from the Pacers during a stretch where the home team wasted a couple of opportunities in transition. Haliburton + bench had an okay stretch against a Brunson-less, Towns-less lineup, and Siakam + McConnell survived the Towns + bench lineup that came afterwards. 

The Pacers survived the first quarter and came out on the other side with a lead, despite Haliburton shooting 0/4 with 2 turnovers. 25-24. 

Siakam banged a pull up triple over Towns to start the quarter, but Shamet lost Mathurin on a pin-in and returned the favor. A brutal stretch of defense on Anunoby (you’re allowed to help off of Delon Wright in the gaps) brought the Knicks back even, despite a couple nice possessions on the offensive end from Mathurin. 

A couple threes from Toppin and then Haliburton (who broke the seal) helped the Pacers go up 6 while Siakam was playing dazzling defense on Towns to help slow down the Knicks offense - the doubles were coming in a more timely fashion as well. 39-33. Unfortunately, once Turner came back in Towns was able to get loose for a 4 point run before checking out. 

Note: Nembhard had virtually no ability to hit shots. Wide open looks, and not close. Even when he took a practice triple in between plays it was way off. 

There was a stretch of what seemed like a whistle every 15 seconds of gameplay. Both teams entered the bonus, both teams were at 41, and there was 5 minutes until halftime. An absolute slog. To his credit though, Haliburton instilled a good deal of pace into his teams process in the following minutes as they got out and running for easy looks. 

Another note: man, oh man, Nembhard is putting in a hell of a shift on defense and he just can’t get a thing to go on offense. Wide open shots and it just isn’t close. 

It really was Siakam & Anunoby to close the quarter, by the way. It seemed like every possession funneled to them and they both did a great job with them. The Beloved Bowl was alive and well as they both led their respective teams in scoring at the half. Siakam with 16 on 8 shots. Anunoby with 14 on 9. Pacers up, 58-54. 

Siakam hit a pick n pop triple to start the second half. He pitched to Nesmith for another, and he got a stop on both Towns & Bridges. Then he sprinted out for an and1 in transition after Bryant blocked Anunoby at the bucket. A monster start for the Pacers star, and one that extended his team’s lead to 13. A 9-0 run. 22 points on 10 shots for #43. 

“Where would they be without Siakam?” - Reggie Miller

The Pacers got a stretch of Siakam stops on Towns mixed in with two triples from Bryant, and one from Nembhard - all from the same corner. A massive stretch from the Pacers, and a significant counterpunch after Brunson got loose for a bit of shotmaking. Of note as well, Haliburton was tremendous using his length to disrupt on defense. 78-63. 

Unfortunately though, the Knicks took a timeout, Siakam went to the bench, and the Knicks immediately took off on a 8-0 run over a minute of basketball. An inexcusable stretch that brought the lead back down to 7. 

Siakam checked back in immediately. Siakam immediately got his paws on a dig down to create a turnover and a run out dunk for Nesmith. Then they got a stop and a run out for Bryant who hit both his free throws. 11 points on perfect shooting off the bench, in very short order. The Pacers ball pressure went up to a million. McConnell hit a dare triple. Siakam hit a turnaround over Bridges and the lead rocketed back up to 16. 

The Siakam + bench lineup slugged back and forth the Knicks mostly bench lineup and held serve. Haliburton and Toppin checked back in and connected on a three right away. Some crazy ball went on with both teams changing ends and turning the ball over, but Haliburton managed to break out for a dunk in the final seconds of the quarter to put the Pacers up 15 heading into the fourth. 12 minutes from a Finals appearance. 92-77.

It was time to work. 

There was really unfortunate sequence to start the fourth. Towns drove for a bucket on Walker, who was injured during the play, and for some reason, I have no idea why, the Pacers didn’t call a timeout and elected to try and play the possession while Walker writhed in pain under the basket. They turned the ball over and gave a wide open run out dunk to Anunoby. 

Walker was helped off the floor, and was favouring his right foot/ankle. 

Anunoby ran roughshod over Mathurin for an and1 shortly after Mathurin failed to hold onto the ball and turned it over. Their 15 point lead shrunk to 9 in a flash. 

Disastrous start. 

Haliburton and Nembhard authored a great run of play though, and thank goodness they did. Highlighted by a tremendous combination of Nembhard in chase and Haliburton in a hard show, they turned Brunson over for a layup on the other end. They were also targeting Towns’ drop in the pick n’ roll. 

Nembhard’s defense had been sublime on Brunson. Note perfect, and incredibly frustrating for the Knicks star. So frustrating that he headbutted Nembhard and somehow, I have no idea how, got away with it. 

Of note, Haliburton had really, really started to heat up. A torrid run of scoring, built almost entirely off of soft floaters across a stretch that saw the Pacers shoot 8-11 from the floor - including a Nembhard triple that found the bottom and launched his team up 19 with a smidge under 5 minutes to go. 

The Pacers dominated the final stretch. Topping broke loose after the Knicks loaded up on Haliburton. They ran away with it. 

Siakam was the skeleton key that unlocked the Towns matchup and the offense in the first half. Three 30+ performances in the ECF. That’s why they traded for him and signed him to the max.

Nembhard was the utterly essential and resilient point of attack defender that finally got his get back on Brunson, and did so while tallying 6 steals. 

Haliburton was the offensive star, who waited until the Knicks lost their footing in his defensive matchup, and he exploded down the stretch to put the Pacers over the top while underscoring everything with a sterling defensive performance. 

Hello, Finals. The Pacers first appearance in a quarter century. What a performance. What a team. 

Have a blessed day.