Toppin’s overtime dunks help Pacers take 1-0 lead in Eastern Conference finals

Former Flyer helps lead Indiana to victory against his former team
Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) puts up a reverse layup against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference final, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) puts up a reverse layup against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference final, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Former Dayton Flyers forward Obi Toppin scored four points on two dunks in the final minute of overtime Wednesday to help lead the Indiana Pacers to a 138-135 victory against the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Playing at Madison Square Garden, the arena he called home in his first two seasons in the NBA, Toppin scored eight points on 4-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in 20 minutes.

The Pacers erased a 14-point deficit in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, forcing overtime on a game-tying buzzer-beater by Tyrese Haliburton.

“I feel like we’re super resilient,” Toppin told reporters after the game. “With us, you’ve got to play until the last buzzer goes off, and I feel like everybody on this team is going to work 110% every single game until that last buzzer. I feel like that’s what happened. I feel like they slowed down a little bit, and we just kept it going.”

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) is mobbed by teammates as he makes a choking motion after hitting a shot against the New York Knicks at the end of regulation to tie Game 1 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference final, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Credit: AP

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Credit: AP

Toppin set a playoff career high with 10 rebounds. He fell two points short of his first postseason double-double.

In 11 playoff games this year, Toppin is averaging 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game.

Toppin missed a wide-open dunk earlier in the game but finished two memorable slams in overtime.

• With 54 seconds to play, Toppin’s putback dunk after a missed 3 by Haliburton gave the Pacers a 134-33 lead.

“Just being in the right place at the right time,” Toppin said. “We know if we win the rebounding battle against the Knicks, we’ll be in a good position to win. So I just try to crash and grab every rebound.”

• With 15 seconds remaining, Toppin’s double-clutch dunk gave the Pacers a 138-135 lead. It was the last basket of the game for either team.

“I think we should have fouled,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “We just didn’t.”

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