Tyreese Halliburton honored his teammate, who was also a former New York Knicks player with his impressive Game 6 performance.
The Indiana Pacers secured the berth in the NBA Finals with a dominant 125-108 victory over the New York Knicks.
Pascal Siakam led the scorer with 31 points in the evening, while Tyreese Halliburton contributed 21 points and 13 assists in the closeout game.
All of the Pacers showed up in home victory, including the bench they totaled to score 38 points.
Obitopin made a particularly big difference as he scored 18 of those points and blocked three shots in the Pacers’ victory.
Toppin was the Knicks’ eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, but he didn’t find a role in the team.
The 27-year-old was traded for the Pacers for two future second picks and has since found a few minutes and is a key part of the roster now in the NBA Finals.
Halliburton highlighted how important the series is to Toppin. Because it was the team that drafted him.
He said: “Obi has grown from the bench for us, and obviously this series against his team will probably have more juice for him, given where he comes from.
“He was special tonight, and we did all the little things that needed him to play after play.
The Pacers have one of the league’s most solid starting fives, but it’s their bench that has brought them so far in the playoffs.
Rick Carlisle has a wealth of talent coming out of the bench along with players like Toppin, Benedict Maturin, TJ McConnell and Ben Shepherd.
Siakam revealed how the team was counted through playoff runs after a disappointing Game 5 and how they used it.
The bench played a key role in doing so as they played brilliantly on both ends to keep their team in the game when the stars took a few minutes.
They will face OKC Thunder, which also has a star bench unit from Alex Caruso, Casson Wallace and Jalen Williams.
Carlisle said he is proud to be able to achieve success in the NBA Finals, but in the third stint, the coaches hope to lead them to their first championship.
The Thunder were great and dominant throughout the playoffs and regular season.
It’s going to be a tough job, but the Pacers have proven the suspects wrong for the second year in a row and are trying to do it again in the final.