Toppin delivers another standout performance in Game 6 of NBA Finals

“A few years ago, you had a chance to play for a championship in the NCAA tournament with a special Dayton Flyers team,” Adesina O. Koiki, of A Lot of Sports Talk said, “and that got taken away from you because of COVID. Are there similarities between that special team in 2020 and this team right now? And take me through your emotions as you’re getting ready to play for a championship knowing that just a few years ago you had a special team and never got that chance.”

Toppin answered the question after scoring 20 points in a 108-91 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Indianapolis. The Pacers kept their season alive and will play for a championship on the road Sunday.

“That 2020 Dayton year was definitely upsetting because we didn’t get to the tournament,” Toppin said. “We don’t know what could have happened. I felt like we would have won if we played. But to have this opportunity playing at the highest stage — just finished Game 6 in the NBA finals and going on to Game 7; there’s not a lot of Game 7s — with this amazing team, it’s a blessing. And I wouldn’t want to do it with any other team.“

After being reminded about 2020 by a reporter at the postgame press conference, Toppin then added, “Other than the 2020 Dayton Flyers.”

Dayton won 29 games that season, including the last 20 in the regular season, only to have their season end when the pandemic began.

On Thursday, Toppin made 6 of 12 field goals, including 4 of 6 3-pointers . He added six rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes. He has the Pacers’ third-highest scoring average (12.8 points per game) in the finals after ranking sixth in the regular season (10.5).

According to StatMuse, an account on X (Twitter), Toppin is the second player in NBA Finals history with 70-plus points, 30-plus rebounds, 12-plus threes in a Finals. The other was Robert Horry, of the Houston Rockets, in the 1994 Finals.

Only four former Dayton Flyers have appeared in NBA Finals games. None scored more in one finals series than Toppin.

Don “Monk” Meineke scored 40 points in the 1955 Finals for the Fort Wayne Pistons. Hank Finkel scored 17 points for the Boston Celtics in the 1974 Finals. Johnny Davis scored 64 points for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1977 Finals.

Toppin surpassed Davis in Game 6. He has 77 points in the series.

The Pacers bounced back from a 120-109 loss at Oklahoma City on Monday. They led by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.

“We just came in here with the energy we needed,” Toppin said. “We had the amazing crowd, amazing fans, best fans in the world who helped us do it throughout this whole game, and we just went out there and did what we had to do to get the win.”

Either the Pacers or Thunder will win their first NBA championship Sunday. The home team is 15-4 in Game 7s, though the Cleveland Cavaliers won the last Game 7, in 2016, on the road against the Golden State Warriors.

“We’re just super resilient, and we’re hungry,” Toppin said. “We got a taste of what the Eastern Conference Finals was last year, but we knew we could get back to the Eastern Conference Finals and into the finals this year. We all work extremely hard every single day to allow the success that we have. And we’re not done. We’re going to keep working. Got one more game. Last game of the year coming up. So look at the film, get better and be prepared for Game 7.”

Credit: AP

Credit: AP