Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam has praised the impact of his teammates after their Game 3 win.
The Indiana Pacers are 2-1 up after a tightly contested win in their first home game of the NBA Finals.
Trailing in the fourth quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder could not hold back a rampant Pacers team who powered through to win 116-107.
Despite poor viewership ratings, the two teams put on one of the most evenly matched and exciting Finals games in years, with genuine intrigue over who will win.
Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam kept up his impressive playoff scoring run with 21 points, but he had plenty of praise for his teammates.
Pascal Siakam spoke highly of teammate Obi Toppin after game, praising his natural athleticism.
Siakam declared Toppin as one of the quickest bigs in the league, claiming the former Knicks player is ‘perfect’ for the Pacers’ style of play.
He told a press conference: “He’s gifted. We know what he can do and he’s one of the fastest out there in the league as a big to run the floor. He’s perfect for what we want to do, and obviously, yeah, it’s crazy.
“I just love when he’s aggressive. Playing defense, running, and again, using his athleticism to just get in the paint, rebound, anything that he can do out there as a big that can move.
“He’s been great for us, and yeah, the whole bench, not just Obi, but the whole bench tonight was really great and they affected the game and they played with so much energy.”
The admiration between the two is mutual, with Toppin previously praising the impact Siakam and his experience of playing in the NBA Finals with Toronto and how it helps the Pacers behind the scenes.
The star of the show was Bennedict Mathurin, who scored a game-high 27 points off the bench, more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 24.
Siakam commented: “I think he was great being aggressive. That’s who we want him to be and when he’s aggressive, he’s active on defense. He’s picking a full court.
“He’s cutting. Like when he’s doing that, I mean, it looks easy out there for him.
Star teammate Tyrese Haliburton had his highest scoring game of the Finals, 22-9-11, one rebound shy of a triple-double.
Siakam wants to see more of the same from the star: “He’s got to be himself every time he’s out on the floor. He can impact the game in so many ways.
“So I’m really not worried about his scoring. I just know that he’s going to make the right play.
“But when he’s intentional about doing that every single play, I know something good is going to happen. So as long as he keeps doing that, we’re going to be alright.”
Another big impact maker was TJ McConnell, who chipped in with 10 points and 5 assists, including a crucial game-tying bucket after a steal in the fourth quarter.
Siakam made clear he was impressed with his contribution: “When TJ is playing with that type of energy, I mean, obviously the crowd loves him. So it’s great for us because every time he does something good, they go crazy.
“He’s just so dynamic in terms of running the floor for us, getting us in position and when you add those steals and just bringing the crowd into the game the way he does, he was special tonight. It wasn’t about scoring.
“It was just about his energy and the things that he did, like just getting steals, getting us in position, finding people in cutting situations.”
