Pascal Siakam beat teammate Tyrese Haliburton by one vote for Eastern Conference MVP
By Matt Reed
The Indiana Pacers are back in the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly 25 years, but even though Saturday's win over the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals was a historic moment for the franchise it did come with a bit of controversy after the game.
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When the Pacers were lining up to receive recognition on their home court, the MVP award for the conference finals was expected to go to guard Tyrese Haliburton, and even he was prepared to walk up and accept the honor on stage.
That wasn't the case though, as NBA voters narrowly gave the honor of Eastern Conference MVP out to his Pacers teammate, Pascal Siakam by the thin margin of five votes to four.
Siakam was certainly brilliant throughout the Knicks series, and both players have carried the team on both ends of the floor throughout the postseason, so it makes sense the votes were closer than expected.
Now, the Pacers set up a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, a matchup that not many fans across the league would've anticipated at the start of the season based on how small both markets are.
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