Key frontcourt rebounds and tip-offs! Pacers reversed, Sika made an indelible contribution, and the MVP in the East Finals is still stable

On June 6, in a thrilling match, the Pacers retaliated against the Thunder with a 111-110 win with Halliburton's quasi-finals win in 0.3 seconds, and seized the lead with a big score of 1-0 in the finals. Although the glory of victory belongs to Halliburton's amazing shot, Siakam's performance in the last moment of the game was also indelible. His two free throws and a tip-in for the frontcourt rebound laid a solid foundation for the team's reversal.

Siakam, a powerful player who is always underestimated by the outside world, has impressive brilliant resumes: FMVP of the 2017 G League, MIP of the 2019 NBA and championship glory, was selected into the All-Star lineup three times and won the Best Team twice. It is more worth mentioning that in 2025, he led the Pacers to the finals as the MVP of the East Finals. As one of the only two championship members in the Pacers, Siakam showed amazing stability when facing the Thunder’s strongest defense in the playoffs. In the first quarter, Siakam scored 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist with 2 of 2 shots, with only 1 mistake in the game, while the Pacers made 9 mistakes. Although his feel declined in the second quarter, he made only 1 of 4 shots, he still contributed 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and maintained a record of 0 turnovers. In contrast, the Pacers made 10 mistakes in this quarter, and Siakam's stable performance undoubtedly became the team's most solid backing.

Entering the third quarter, Siakam became the super hero of the team's score pursuit. He made 3 of 7 shots in a single quarter, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, scoring 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist, and 0 mistakes. After three quarters, Siakam has contributed 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, becoming the Pacers' highest scorer, while Halliburton only scored 10 points in the third quarter. In the final quarter, Turner and Toppin performed surprises, helping the Pacers to catch up from 15 points behind to only 4 points behind. At the critical moment, Siakam made a foul and missed two free throws, but the referee ordered the Thunder to enter the field early, and he stood on the free throw line again and hit a goal. Subsequently, Siakam sent another key block and grabbed the frontcourt rebound and scored a tip-in, narrowing the score gap to 1 point. Although the Pacers failed to challenge while competing for cricket, Siakam's performance was excellent enough throughout the game. He played 35 minutes in the game, made 7 of 15 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 6 free throws, contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block, and had only 1 turnover, with a shooting percentage of 46.7%. He is still the hero who scored the most points in the Pacers.