In the series, Siakam is averaging 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists with 1.3 steals and 2.5 blocks in the Eastern Conference Finals. His experience with the Raptors when they won the NBA Championship will be a big factor against a very young and talented OKC Thunder.
PASCAL SIAKAM IS THE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS MVP!!!
The Indiana Pacers will advance to the NBA Finals as they defeat the NY Knicks to bag the 2025 Eastern Conference Champions. It was a close first half of the game, where the largest lead was just 6 points (33-39) by the Indiana Pacers.
Pascal Siakam, who was named 2025 Eastern Conference MVP, carried the scoring load for the Pacers in the first half, scoring a team-high 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists with a steal and 3 blocks. Tyrese Haliburton, who had just scored 7 points in the first half, added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 13 assists. He also made 3 steals and a block.
"First of all, shoutout Indy, man." 🗣️
Pascal Siakam with Ernie Johnson after winning Eastern Conference Finals MVP. pic.twitter.com/0ma2GeSINu
As great as Siakam and Haliburton were, it was a total team effort for the Pacers. Seven Pacers scored in double digits, including seldom-used Thomas Bryant, who scored 11 points in just 13 minutes of playing time.
This will be the Pacers’ first trip to the NBA Finals in 25 years. The last time they won the Eastern Conference Finals was in 2000, where they also defeated the NY Knicks in 6 games.
The Indiana Pacers have once again showed us that they’re one of the top franchise in the Eastern Conference, by eliminating the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers with a final score of 114-105 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semi-final series. This will be the second consecutive year the Pacers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, a feat they haven’t achieved in more than a decade.
Despite a strong start from the Cavaliers, the Pacers rallied from a 19-point deficit in the second quarter, took control in the third, and built a 12-point lead after halftime. Notably, the Pacers won all three games at Cleveland’s homecourt in the series.
Tyrese Haliburton led the charge for Indiana with 31 points, including five crucial three-pointers in the second quarter that sparked the Pacers’ comeback. Haliburton also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 8 assists. Pascal Siakam contrrbuted a solid 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
Donovan Mitchell, playing through left ankle injury, led the Cavaliers with a game-high 35 points and 9 rebounds, while Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds. However, the Cavaliers struggled with their shooting, particularly from beyond the arc, converting only 9 of their 35 three-point attempts. The Pacers’ defense tightened in the 3rd quater, limiting the Cavaliers’ to just 20 points against the Pacers’ 33 points.
The Pacers now await the winner of the other Eastern Conference semi-final matchup between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks.
Here are some good news and bad news, well I guess that will depend on the player you’re rooting for. Good news for fans of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen and Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, since all three All Star will move-up to be starters replacing injured and starters Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (left superior tib/fib sprain), Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (right knee MCL sprain) and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (strained right hamstring), which is a bad new for the fans of the said injured players.
At the sametime, 3 new All Star Reserves was named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as injury replacements for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game namely; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam.
NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. MT at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
The NBA All-Star Draft will take place hours before the game where Captains for each team will choose from the player pool to complete their team roster. For this year’s All Star Games Lebron James, of the LA Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks are named as the Team Captains.
Below are the complete list of player pool including the Injured/Will Not Play, as well as the replacements;
Bam Adebayo (Miami)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) – Starter and Team Captain
Jaylen Brown (Boston)
Stephen Curry (Golden State) – Starter, Injured and will not play
DeMar DeRozan (Chicago)
Luka Dončić (Dallas)
Kevin Durant (Phoenix) – Starter, Injured and will not play
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) – Injury Replacement
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) – Starter Replacement
De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento) – Injury Replacement
Paul George (LA Clippers)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City)
Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana)
Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee)
Kyrie Irving (Dallas) – Starter
Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis)
LeBron James (L.A. Lakers) – Starter and Team Captain
Nikola Jokić (Denver) – Starter
Damian Lillard (Portland)
Lauri Markkanen (Utah) – Starter Replacement
Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland) – Starter
Ja Morant (Memphis) – Starter Replacement
Julius Randle (New York)
Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento)
Pascal Siakam (Toronto) – Injury Replacement
Jayson Tatum (Boston) – Starter
Zion Williamson (New Orleans) – Starter, Injured and will not play
