Pacers Beat Knicks to Advance to NBA Finals

Pascal Siakam scored 31 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 21 with 13 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks in Indianapolis on May 31st. The Pacers won the best of seven series over the Knicks 4-2 and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Indiana lost in the finals that year to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Pacers have never won an NBA championship since joining the league in the 1976-77 season. They did win three American Basketball Association titles prior to joining the NBA.

Indiana will face the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals. The Thunder’s most recent appearance in the NBA Finals was in the 2011-12 season, when they lost to the Miami Heat. The Thunder won an NBA championship back in 1978-9 when the franchise was in Seattle and known as the Seattle Supersonics.

What this matchup means is that we will not be seeing the regular suspects competing for the championship. The big market Lakers, Celtics, Warriors, and so on aren’t here, and while the NBA front office is probably bemoaning the matchup (though not publicly of course) it shows that smaller market teams can compete with the big boys and deserve their moments in the spotlight. This should be something the NBA should embrace. Who doesn’t want to see OKC point guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play and so what if he doesn’t play for the Celtics or Lakers?

The Finals begin June 5th in Oklahoma City.