Tyrese Haliburton played through his strained right calf, and the Indiana Pacers forced 21 turnovers on their way to a 108-91 romp over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, forcing the NBA Finals to a Game 7.
The Thunder jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead to start the game, but it was all Pacers the rest of the way as they avoided elimination.
Indiana used a 36-9 run in the second and third quarters to blow the game wide open, and they led by as much as 31 points before the Thunder took out their starters in concession, setting the stage for Sunday바카라s Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
All the attention leading up to Game 6 was on Haliburton바카라s right calf after he appeared hobbled in a Game 5 loss.
Haliburton not only played but appeared no worse for the wear. His impact was far greater than his statistics 바카라 14 points and five assists 바카라 as the Pacers outscored the Thunder by 25 points in his 23 minutes.
바카라We just wanted to protect home court,바카라 Haliburton said. 바카라We didn바카라t want to see these guys celebrate a championship on our home floor. Backs against the wall and we just responded. ... Total team effort.바카라
Obi Toppin led the Pacers with 20 points and was 4 for 7 on 3-pointers, but Indiana바카라s attack was as balanced as ever.
Andrew Nembhard had an efficient 17 points, Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and T.J. McConnell had another strong game off the bench, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Oklahoma City has dominated the possession battle all season but had their own strength flipped on them in Game 6.
The Thunder committed a season-high 21 turnovers while forcing the Pacers into just 10, and Indiana grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to Oklahoma City바카라s four.
The Thunder바카라s offence looked lost at times and, at one point, failed to score at all for a span that lasted six minutes and 57 seconds of game time.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 21 points but committed eight turnovers.
Jalen Williams, who broke out for 40 points in Game 5, was limited to 16 on Thursday, with the Thunder being outscored by 40 in his 27 minutes.
바카라Credit Indiana,바카라 Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 바카라They earned the win. They outplayed us for most of the 48 minutes. They went out there and attacked the game.바카라
Sunday바카라s Game 7 will be the first winner-take-all game in the NBA Finals since 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers famously rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors.
The series will return to Paycom Center, where the Thunder are 10-2 this season.
Home teams are 15-4 in Game 7s in the NBA Finals.
