Pacers' Pascal Siakam leads team to Game 6 win vs. Knicks

Siakam, who won a title with Toronto in 2019, cost the Pacers three first-round picks in a midseason trade, but it was well worth it after “Spicy P” delivered 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in Indiana’s 116-103 win, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday in New York.

He was highly efficient in the win, shooting 11-of-21 from the field. Siakam did all his damage in the paint, finding holes in the Knicks defense with free-throw line jumpers and drives to the rim.

Indiana took control of the game with a big run late in the second quarter, and the Knicks never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

The Knicks didn’t just lose the game Friday. They lost another player in a season full of injuries. Josh Hart left with an apparent abdominal injury, and after returning to the game, he headed to the locker room early in the fourth quarter. For Hart, who played every minute of four different playoff games this postseason, it might be quite serious.

Indiana had six players score in double figures and emphatically won the rebounding battle, 47-35. The team with the most rebounds has won every game of this series, as has the home team.

But it’s Pacers vs. Knicks. Based on history, this series was always going to be a war, and it was always heading to a seventh game. It’s just a shame the game is on ABC. The Madison Square Garden should get to boo TNT broadcaster Reggie Miller one more time.