For much of the first half in Game 6 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, Tyrese Haliburton could not score. The assists and the defense were there, but the Indiana Pacers still could not create the much-needed separation from the New York Knicks. 

That was, until Pascal Siakam took matters into his own hands. 

Siakam has had a couple of stellar performances in the Eastern Conference Finals largely because no one on the Knicks could shut him down. In Game 6, the Cameroonian was once again an unsolvable puzzle for New York, who had no answer for him whether he was scoring from behind the 3-point line or inside. Haliburton was rightly feeding Siakam and when the dust settled, the Pacers blew past the Knicks and into the NBA Finals.  

There’s a case to be made for Haliburton to be the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, but it was Siakam who was a bigger factor for Indiana in the fourth quarter, although not by much. Going forward, though, Siakam could prove to be the wildcard for the Pacers against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The three-time All-Star will force the Thunder to play big lineups and is night and day a different player compared to the likes of Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. Siakam is a more skilled big man who plays with finesse and so physical defense won’t be enough to limit the damage from the nine-year NBA veteran. 

OKC’s depth will provide Siakam different looks than the one New York offered in the Eastern Conference Finals with Karl-Anthony Towns’ pedestrian defense. The Thunder’s perimeter defense effectively stymied Anthony Edwards so Siakam will have to be more resourceful in getting better looks from there. That being said, Siakam can instead focus on attacking the basket and could capitalize on the eagerness of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein to contest and swat shots. 

The odds are seemingly stacked against Indiana at the moment, but they’ve been in this situation before. In fact, Siakam has faced this type of situation before. 

In the 2019 NBA Finals, Siakam helped end the Golden State Warriors’ three-peat bid through a two-way effort that helped negate the vaunted lineup the Warriors had with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The 2019 NBA Most Improved Player was only starting to find his groove and he peaked at the right time to give the Toronto Raptors their first NBA title. Now he has a chance to give the Pacers that elusive championship. 

Like Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam has become an adopted son of Indiana after joining the Pacers through a trade. It’s clear that they have welcomed him with open arms and now he has repaid them by bringing the Indiana Pacers back to the NBA Finals after 25 long years. An opportunity to seize a bigger prize awaits and if Siakam continues his stellar play, he may never need to buy a beer in the state of Indiana ever again.