Tyrese Haliburton and Pacers Dominate OKC to Force 1st Finals Game 7 Since LeBron James’ Famous Block

Tyrese Haliburton and his Indiana Pacers had their backs against the wall taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pacers Dominate OKC to Force 1st Finals Game 7 Since LeBron James’ Famous Block

Tyrese Haliburton and LeBron James' famous block in 2016 NBA Finals Game 7 (Image via FirstSportz)

The last time the NBA Finals featured a Game 7, LeBron James‘ famous chase-down block blew the sports world to bits. In the eyes of many, it was the greatest NBA Finals series, and none of the sequences to date has captured the same emotion. Now, Tyrese Haliburton and his Indiana Pacers get a chance to bring back that excitement.

Ahead of Game 6 on Thursday, many were angling at the possibility of the Oklahoma City Thunder taking over and winning their first-ever NBA title. They had the momentum and the game plan to stop the Pacers from causing an upset.

However, as the game began, it seemed it was anything but that, as the home team edged out their title rivals bit by bit in the 1st two quarters. By the end of the third, the Pacers led by 30 points. At this point, Haliburton, who has been struggling with injury, was enjoying his time on the bench.

He knew what they achieved tonight was spectacular. Despite his injury, the point guard chimed in with 14 points and 5 assists. What was more impressive was the overall team defense. The East champions clamped down on the best offensive team in the league and forced turnovers.

The usually careful with the ball Thunder turned it over 21 times. More importantly, their top three players did not have a night they would be proud of. On the other hand, six Pacers players finished in double digits and cemented arguably one of the best team performances in these NBA Finals.

Tyrese Haliburton’s no-look assist to Pascal Siakam was highlight of the game

The game was more about efficiency and stifling defense. There were not too many highlights, as it was more about the ebs and flows rather than some superstar-esque athletic blowouts. However, one play seemed to deliver a nasty blow to the Oklahoma City Thunder more than ever.

Late in the 2nd quarter, with the Indiana Pacers leading by 18 points, Tyrese Haliburton jumped on to steal a pass from Jalen Williams and raced to the other end of the court. Once he surveyed the floor, he sent a no-look pass to the other side of the court.

A streaking Pascal Siakam caught the pass and elevated for a thunderous dunk over Williams to send the fans inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse into a frenzy. That was the perfect sequence to summarize their 36-17 second quarter blowout that sent the home team into their locker room with a 22-point lead.

That sequence seemed to deflate the West champions as they could not come back in the 3rd quarter with an answer. Soon, Haliburton took to his seat on the bench so that he could rest his calf before preparing for Game 7.

Tyrese Haliburton and Pacers will look to carry this momentum into Game 7

Unlike the LeBron James chase-down block, neither of the teams about to take part in Game 7 of the NBA Finals has superstars who can emulate something like what James did back in 2016. Both teams are focused on winning as a group, and usually are devoid of theatrics.

Tyrese Haliburton overcame injury to lead his Indiana Pacers to blowout the Thunder
Tyrese Haliburton overcame injury to lead his Indiana Pacers to blowout the Thunder (Image via Indiana Pacers/X)

The Pascal Siakam dunk aside, Tyrese Haliburton and his Indiana Pacers would be looking to take this form into Game 7. They were playing with their backs against the wall, and that ended up in a blowout win.

They will be mindful of a response from arguably the best team in the league. But if they manage to stick to what made them successful so far, they should not have a problem lifting their first-ever NBA championship on Sunday, June 22nd.

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