Pacers’ Jarace Walker still in doubt for start of NBA Finals after hurting ankle

Jarace Walker was seen on crutches after suffering a right ankle injury after the Pacers’ 125-108 victory over the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night, and his coach Rick Carlisle isn’t convinced the forward will be available for the NBA Finals.

The 21-year-old will now have four full days to recover if he hopes to make it to Game 1 of their series against Oklahoma City on Thursday night. “He’s young so that’s good,” said the Indiana coach. “I did not see a replay so I don’t know how much, how far it turned over, how much weight he had on it.

“But when a guy goes down and stays down like that, you’re always holding your breath,” Carlisle expressed, as his young star fell to injury after defending a drive. His right leg seemed to have bend awkwardly and eventually had to crawl off the court with the help from two trainers.

25 years had to go by since the last time the Pacers made it to the NBA Finals, as Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam led the charge in Game 6 to guarantee their ticket after beating the Knicks on Saturday night. The Eastern Conference Finals ended 4-2 in Indiana‘s favor.

While their big man dropped in 31 points, and his co-star hit 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, the home squad defeated New York 125-108. This is now only their second time in franchise history that they’ve qualified for the final stages, as they first trip happened in 2000.

The series against Oklahoma City will start this upcoming Thursday evening. “Pascal and Tyrese put us on their backs and made sure we would not lose,” said coach Rick Carlisle about the last minutes of Game 6 against the Knicks. “But our work has just begun.”

While Siakam earned himself the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference finals MVP, Haliburton also contributed with 13 assists and Obi Toppin added 18 points and six rebounds against his former squad this weekend.