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Fans Think Weird Pascal Siakam Pregame Moment Helped Power Pacers' Electric First Half

The Pacers were playing like a team possessed to start Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Tyler Lauletta

Pascal Siakam locks in ahead of Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Pascal Siakam locks in ahead of Game 6 of the NBA Finals. / @cjzero / X
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The Indiana Pacers came out firing on all cylinders to start Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After missing their first eight shots from the field, the Pacers caught fire like they so often have this postseason, and wound up running up a wildly unexpected 64–42 lead into halftime.

The dominant first half came to a close with two impressive plays from Pascal Siakam. First, Siakam delivered a wild fastbreak dunk after Tyrese Haliburton forced a turnover on the defensive end of the floor. The Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted.

On their next trip down the floor, Siakam beat the halftime buzzer, capping off a 30–9 Pacers run to close the half.

The odds were against the Pacers heading into Game 6, with Haliburton still dealing with a leg injury and the Thunder seeming to hit their stride over the past two games. But some fans noticed a small detail in the Pacers’ team huddle before the game, and were sure that Siakam was locked in and ready to win.

As Indiana’s players gathered in the tunnel, maybe for one final hype speech or a quick moment of prayer, Siakam looked up and his eyes appeared to roll into the back of his head. Across the internet, fans were convinced: he’s not losing this game.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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