The Indiana Pacers punched their ticket to the NBA Finals on Saturday, meaning their former Arizona Wildcats, T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin, will match up against former ASU Sun Devil Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
McConnell (played at Arizona 2013-15) was a key reserve for Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals, spelling superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton and, at times, sharing the court. He scored in double-digits three times and shot 53.8% from the field in the series.
After a rocky start to the series, Mathurin (played at Arizona 2020-22) gave Indiana some punch off the bench in Games 4-5, totaling 43 points on 61.1% shooting in the pair of games.
Meanwhile for Oklahoma City, Dort (played at ASU 2018-19) is coming off his first all-defense honors in his sixth NBA season. He finished off the Western Conference Finals with a 12-point, three-steal performance in the clincher.
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The three never matched up in the desert duel, as there was no overlap in their stays, but each have since carved out significant supplementary roles on their respective contenders.
How did Pacers reach NBA Finals?
Pascal Siakam scored 31 points, Haliburton had 21 points and 13 assists, and the Pacers pulled away for a 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 6 to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.
Obi Toppin added 18 points and six rebounds against his former team as the gold-clad crowd gave the starters a roaring ovation when they departed with 47.2 seconds left.
Indiana will visit Oklahoma City for Game 1 on Thursday night.
OG Anunoby led the Knicks with 24 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson added 19 points as the Pacers’ relentless ball pressure forced New York into 17 turnovers.
The Knicks still have not reached the Finals since 1999, and they couldn’t extend the series in a game that was tough and physical right from the start.
Whether it was Towns limping after drawing a foul or Haliburton holding his jaw when he took a shot that knocked him to the ground, the tone was set early — and never really changed with so much at stake.
Indiana finally broke open a close game by opening the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 78-63 lead courtesy of three straight 3-pointers — two from Thomas Bryant and one from Andrew Nembhard. The run ignited the crowd, which included everyone from Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to WNBA star Caitlin Clark to Timothee Chalamet to Kylie Jenner.
But when the Knicks answered with eight straight to cut the deficit to 78-71, the Pacers responded with another 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game and the Knicks were forced to play catch-up the rest of the night.
Pacers star and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was on the 1999-2000 Pacers team that made the Finals, served as the color analyst for TNT’s final broadcast.
New York was trying to become the 14th team in league history to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a series. It hasn’t won a title since 1973.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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