Pascal Siakam is headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The former Toronto Raptors All-Star helped lead the Indiana Pacers to a 114-105 victory as they take down the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers 4-1.
Siakam scored 21 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 5 assists in 40 minutes. He was mainly matched up against the Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley for the series, but Siakam was able to find his groove and impacted the series with his offense. He helped the Pacers in this one after they fell behind by 19 points early on.
Tyrese Haliburton had another great game with 31 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.
However, it was the Canadian Andrew Nembhard who came away with a pair of clutch buckets down the stretch. He first knocked down a catch-and-shoot three with under five minutes in the fourth quarter to give the Pacers a 4-point lead. Then, with just over a minute left in the game, he got by Darius Garland and connected on a tough and-one floater to give Indiana a 6-point lead. The Pacers held on from that point on to closeout the series win. Nembhard finished with 18 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
The Pacers have now punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year since trading for Siakam in January of 2024. The trade has paid off in a big way for Indiana as Siakam has been a huge piece for the team and has thrived in their system.
The Pacers now await their opponent in the next round. They will take on either the New York Knicks or Boston Celtics. The Knicks hold a commanding 3-1 series lead entering Game 5 tonight.
Raptors projected to take Collin Murray-Boyles in ESPN’s post-lottery mock draft
The ping pong balls weren’t kind to the Toronto Raptors as they fell to No. 9 in the draft lottery order.
In ESPN’s first post-lottery mock draft Jonthan Givony and Jeremy Woo have the Raptors taking Collin Murray-Boyles of South Carolina at the 9th spot.
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