Pacers cruise past Thunder, send Finals to Game 7

Obi Toppin scored 20 off the bench to lead a balanced offensive effort as the Indiana Pacers evened the NBA Finals with a 108-91 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6 on Thursday in Indianapolis.The Finals will go to a winner-take-all seventh game for the first time since 2016.Game 7 is Sunday in Oklahoma City.There was little drama Thursday, as Indiana jumped ahead in the first quarter and never relinquished the lead.Andrew Nembhard added 17 points while Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 13 rebounds to move the Pacers within one win of their first NBA title. Tyrese Haliburton, playing through a calf injury, had 14 points and five assists, and T.J. McConnell contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.Indiana forced 21 turnovers.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but had a playoff career-worst eight turnovers and just two assists. Jalen Williams, who scored 40 points in Game 5, finished with just 16 points.Trailing by 30 entering the final quarter, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault pulled his starters, opting to save them for Game 7.Oklahoma City shot just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc — 1-for-11 in the first half.The Pacers took control in the second quarter, turning the tables on the Thunder.Oklahoma City won Games 4 and 5 the same way it had plenty of others this season — by turning up the pressure on defense and using that to fuel its offense.Over the final eight-minutes plus before halftime, Indiana’s defense led the way on a 30-9 run to go into halftime with a 64-42 lead.The Pacers scored 11 of their 36 second-quarter points off the Thunder’s seven turnovers.Haliburton, who had struggled early in games for much of the series even before straining his right calf early in Game 5, helped set the defensive tone for Indiana.