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The basketball players of the Indiana Pacers made it to the big NBA finals for the first time since 2000. Rick Carlisle's team beat the New York Knicks 125:108 on the night of Saturday to Sunday, Central European time, in their "Gainbridge Fieldhouse" and won the Eastern Conference with 4-2 victories.
The Pacers' opponent in the big NBA finals will be the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Western champions easily beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1 in their conference final.
Whichever team wins the title, it will be their first NBA championship trophy in the history of the organization. Again, Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton were the most responsible for the Pacers' victory.
The media panel voted after the end of the final and decided that the Cameroonian Siakam should receive the award for the most valuable player of the Eastern Conference.
There is also great symbolism - the MVP trophy for recognition of the East is called the "Larry Bird Trophy", and it was Larry the "Legend" who was Indiana's coach in their only trip to the NBA finals so far. In 2000, they were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
"Again, Siakam and Haliburton put us on their backs and led us to victory. Our work has just begun," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said.
Rick Carlisle reacts
It turned out that probably the key moment of this final was already seen in the first match. Tyrese Haliburton's shot, which brought overtime to his team and the subsequent victory after a great reversal, became an instant classic. It was difficult for the Knicks to recover from such a shock at the very end of the series. The Knicks did enter this final of the East and their ardent fans were hoping for a trophy, the first since 1973, but they will have to wait. However, the stars of the Knickerbockers do not despair...
"I am fully convinced that the core of this team has the quality to reach the NBA trophy", said the team's tireless playmaker Jalen Brunson after the elimination. However, on Sunday morning it was evident that the team from Manhattan was tired in the sixth game of the series, even though they had their chances to become only the 14th team in the history of the NBA playoffs to advance after a 1-3 deficit in the playoff series. The guests held on until the third quarter, when they could no longer withstand the pressure of the Pacers' excellent defense, which forced them into 17 turnovers, from which they scored as many as 34 points. At the same time, the Pacers shot well - they made 17 three-pointers - and it was clear that it would be very difficult for Brunson and the rest of the team...
This time, unlike some previous matches of this series, there were no epic reversals, and MVP Siakam was the most effective at the end of the game. He finished the duel with 31 points (10/18 from the field), 5 rebounds and 3 assists, playmaker Haliburton was again fantastic with 21 points and 13 assists. Obi Toppin, former Knick, added 18 points, and Andrew Nembhard's game should be singled out – 14 points, 8 assists and 6 steals. For the Knicks, OG Anunoby scored 24 points (10/18 from the field), Julius Randle had 22 points (8/19 from the field) and 14 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson had 19 points (8/18) and 7 assists, with 5 turnovers.
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