'We've got one game': Pacers force Game 7 behind swarming defense, dominant second quarter

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers didn't want to see the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate a championship on their home turf.




They made sure it didn't happen. The Pacers forced Game 7 by winning Game 6 108-91 in a contest that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated.




From the jump, the Pacers were the aggressors. It didn't pay immediate dividends, as Indiana missed its first eight shots and trailed 10-2 in the early going.




Then, the shots started to fall. A jumper from Pascal Siakam followed by a three-point play. Andrew Nembhard went to work, hitting back-to-back threes and adding another bucket to make it 15-12.

The Pacers never trailed the rest of the way. OKC's last push came at the end of the first quarter, when they pulled within three, 28-25, as the period came to a close. They made it a one-point game early in the second quarter before the Pacers took complete control with a 17-2 run to take a 51-35 lead.




To no one's surprise, TJ McConnell was at the center of it all, scoring 8 points, chasing down rebounds, corralling a steal and dishing out an assist. He entered the game with the crowd chanting his name and helped propel the Pacers to the defining run in the most important game of the season.




The Pacers extended the lead to 20 points when Tyrese Haliburton, playing with a calf strain, fired a no-look pass to Siakam, who posterized OKC's Jalin Williams on a dunk. Just like that, it was 62-42 and Gainbridge Fieldhouse was rocking.




Siakam's buzzer-beating jumper put Indiana up by 22 at halftime, sending the shellshocked Thunder to the locker room facing down a 64-42 deficit. Indiana outscored them 36-17 in the second quarter.




The game was never close after that, with Indiana leading by as many as 31 points in the third quarter.

Obi Toppin led the Pacers with 20 points. He added 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Nembhard finished with 17 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Siakam was rock-solid once again, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for a double-double.




Haliburton played 23 minutes, getting the luxury of rest because the Pacers so thoroughly dominated that he didn't need to be on the floor. He had 14 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.




McConnell had another incredible stat line: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in his 24 minutes on the floor. Aaron Nesmith was the final player in double figures for Indiana, finishing with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block.




League MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexande led the Thunder with 21 points but finished with only 2 assists and had 8 turnovers. Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in OKC's Game 5 win, finished with just 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He posted a jaw-dropping -40 in the plus-minus category.




The Thunder hit only one three-pointer in the first half.

Game 6 adjustments

The Pacers made some key adjustments that paid off.




With Haliburton ailing, coach Rick Carlisle had Nembhard and sometimes Siakam take the ball up the court to take some of the onus off his star player. That left Haliburton free to roam. He didn't have his full explosiveness, but he still found some room to get to the paint and distribute.




Haliburton hit three three-pointers and finished +25 in plus-minus. When he was on the court, even when he wasn't scoring, he was effective and turned the ball over only once.

Defensively, the Pacers didn't show as much full-court pressure. That allowed Nembhard to get into the offensive flow, especially early, even as he was expending energy making Gilgeous-Alexander work for every single point.




The Pacers played fierce perimeter defense and handily won the turnover battle. In the first half alone, the Pacers forced 12 OKC turnovers and converted them into 16 points. Indiana turned it over only twice in the first and second quarters; the Thunder scored just 2 points off those turnovers.




OKC turned it over 21 times on the night, while Indiana had a few missteps in the second half and had 11 turnovers by the end of the game. It's no secret that giveaways plagued the Pacers in Game 5. They turned it around on Thursday night.




"We played better. We were where we should be most of the time," Carlisle said. "We were stronger with the ball. We had some that weren't great ones, but we when we made a mistake, we bounced back well and that's what you've got to do this time of year."

The McConnell Factor

McConnell authored another signature performance for the Pacers, bringing the energy and effort needed to keep Oklahoma City at bay. He's the smallest player on the court, but no one questions the size of his heart.




"It's no surprise what TJ does out there every time he comes into the game," Toppin said. "The crowd loves him, and he feeds off that. He had a great start to the game, and it got us going. It brought juice to the game, energy into the game," Toppin said. "I feel like he was a big part of this win."

McConnell has excelled with the second unit all season long. Haliburton said Indiana's depth is a key reason they're still playing for an NBA championship.




"All year, we've preached how important depth is to our success," Haliburton said. "We've really believed in our second group. They've been able to come in and pick up the energy when it's needed. When we're having good games, continue to keep the energy flowing. Obviously, TJ and Obi are the head of that snake off the bench. We've still got Shep [Ben Sheppard] and Benn [Bennedict Mathurin] obviously Jarace [Walker] and TB [Thomas Bryant] and Tony [Bradley]-we've just got so many guys that can chip in. That's the thing about the NBA and the playoffs. You never know when your number is going to be called."




"TJ's a big part of what we do, but everybody is tied together," Carlisle said. "That's how it's gotta be. From the standpoint of rebounding, we did better. We did better with the turnover count. All that stuff's going to get tougher on Sunday."

Haliburton provides a spark

So much of the focus going into Game 6 zeroed in on Haliburton's right calf.




Was it any surprise he was in the lineup? Absolutely not-he said he'd play as long as he could walk.




"He's super-important to us," Carlisle said. "I think the big thing was-there wasn't a lot of drama [about it]. The drama was created in the press somewhat because there was a lot of talk about it."




The Pacers' greatest gift to Haliburton was a dominant performance that gave him some more rest.




"Fortunately, we were able to keep his minutes reasonable. We had a great first half and a good start to the third quarter," Carlisle said.

"I felt like he did amazing today," Toppin said of Haliburton. "He's a soldier. He's not going to let a little injury hold him back from playing in the Finals and helping this team win. He's helped us get to this point, and he's going to keep going until he can't."




"He's a tough kid," Siakam said. "I didn't have any doubt that he was going to be out there with us. It shows he's one of our leaders on the team and he's doing everything he can to be out there for us. We appreciate that."




Haliburton dedicated himself to getting treatment for his injured calf. It included stints in a hyperbaric chamber, various treatments and in-home visits from the Pacers medical staff.




He was determined to play.




"I want to be out there to compete with my brothers," Haliburton said. "These are guys that I'm willing to go to war with and we've had such a special year. We have a special bond as a group. I think I'd beat myself up if I didn't give it a chance. I wanted to be out there and fight. I had to have an honest conversation with coach that if I didn't look like myself and was hurting the team, sit me down. Obviously, I want to be on the floor, but I want to win more than anything."

Game 7 incoming

This Pacers team has advanced farther than any other team in the franchise's NBA history.




They've pushed the heavily favored Thunder to a seven-game series after many prognosticators saw this as a four- or five-game series. The crowd was a major factor.




"Our crowd was spectacular tonight. This was the loudest I've ever heard Gainbridge," said Carlisle, whose coaching career included a stint with Indiana dating back to the Conseco Fieldhouse days. "The crowd was absolutely tremendous. We're playing the best team on the planet. They have proven that the entire year and we have got to play at such a high level for us to have a chance."




Yes, the Game 6 win was terrific, but the attention now turns to Game 7.




"One game. This is what it's all about," Carlisle said. "This is what you dream about growing up, this kind of opportunity. It's a difficult place to play, we know that, but the opportunity to play a game like this a great honor and a great privilege."




"We're just a hungry team. Everybody wants to win, but I feel like we want it more," Toppin said. "We don't get as much love as everybody else in this NBA world, so we just try to go out there and do it for everybody within this circle and that's why we love each other and have so much success."




"It's all about hard play. We've played each other enough now...I don't think there are any secrets out there," said Siakam, who's been to the Finals and won a championship with Toronto. "I think it's about who wants it more, just playing hard and leaving it all out there on the floor and living with the results."




"We've got one game. One game. Nothing that's happened before matters. Nothing that's going to happen after matters. It's all about that one game. Just trying to approach it the right way for the next couple days," Haliburton said.




"It's so exciting as a basketball fan," he added. "There's nothing like a Game 7. There's nothing like a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. I've dreamed of being in this situation my whole life. So to be here is really exciting for me and our group."




The Pacers and Thunder will play for the NBA championship in the winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday, June 22. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. on ABC.



via: https://fox59.com/sports/pacers/weve-got-one-game-pacers-force-game-7-behind-swarming-defense-dominant-second-quarter/