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 away for a 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 6 on Saturday night to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.

Obi Toppin added 18 points and six rebounds against his former team as the gold-clad crowd gave the starters a roaring ovation when they departed with 47.2 seconds left.

Siakam was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP for his performance in the series, narrowly beating out Haliburton in the voting.

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

The Knicks still have not reached the Finals since 1999, and they couldn't extend the series in a game that was tough and physical right from the start.

Whether it was Towns limping after drawing a foul or Haliburton holding his jaw when he took a shot that knocked him to the ground, the tone was set early -- and never really changed with so much at stake.

Indiana finally broke open a close game by opening the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 78-63 lead courtesy of three straight 3-pointers -- two from Thomas Bryant and one from Andrew Nembhard. The run ignited the crowd, which included everyone from Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to WNBA star Caitlin Clark to Timothee Chalamet to Kylie Jenner.

But when the Knicks answered with eight straight to cut the deficit to 78-71, the Pacers responded with another 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game and the Knicks were forced to play catch-up the rest of the night.

Pacers star and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was on the 1999-2000 Pacers team that made The Finals, served as the color analyst for TNT's final broadcast.

New York was trying to become the 14th team in league history to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. It hasn't won a title since 1973.

Indiana will visit Oklahoma City for Game 1 on Thursday night, where the Thunder will be overwhelming favorites. They were installed at -750 favorites to win the series, with the Pacers listed as +525 underdogs at ESPN BET. In the last 20 years, only the 2018 Golden State Warriors (-1075 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers) had shorter odds heading into the Finals than this year's Thunder, according to ESPN Research.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.