Pascal Siakam delivered a playoff career-high 39 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 114-109 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night, giving Indiana a commanding 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Siakam was unstoppable from the opening minutes, scoring the Pacers' first 11 points and finishing the game shooting an efficient 15-for-23 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-5 from three-point range. His dominant performance came at the perfect time for Indiana, as star guard Tyrese Haliburton struggled to find his offensive rhythm early in the game.
"Whatever was out there, I just took it," Siakam said after the game. "I think what makes us special as a team is just that we have different weapons and we're not consumed with who's going to do what. You just go into the game, and however the game presents itself, that's how we go and take it and do it our way. And it doesn't matter who scores."
Despite his slow start, Haliburton still managed to contribute 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Center Myles Turner added 16 points and three rebounds, including a crucial defensive rebound in the final minutes that helped seal the victory.
"That's why we brought him here. It's what he's here to do," Haliburton said of Siakam's performance. "He can get a bucket in so many different ways. He started the game high, and we just kept feeding him. I thought he did a great job of making big shot after big shot after big shot, killing momentum."
Team Effort on Display
The Pacers' depth was on full display once again, with six players scoring in double figures. Indiana shot 51.8% from the field and committed just 10 turnovers while recording 25 assists, marking their seventh consecutive playoff game with at least 100 points and 25 assists.
For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson led the way with 36 points and 11 assists in a valiant effort, but it wasn't enough to overcome Siakam and the balanced Pacers attack. New York now faces a daunting challenge as the series shifts to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4, with history against them—no team in conference finals history has ever lost the first two games at home and gone on to win the series.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle praised Siakam's performance: "Special game. In the first half, he was the guy who got us going and got us through some really difficult stretches. He picked his spots to be aggressive. He ran great. He did everything. He attacked the rim. He was great in the midrange, and the 3-point shot was there."
The game featured 17 ties and 17 lead changes, with both teams trading baskets throughout a tense contest. After the Pacers built an early double-digit lead, the Knicks responded but could never fully pull away. Indiana's ability to generate quick transition points—with Siakam scoring 10 of the team's 14 fast break points—proved crucial in maintaining offensive pressure.
Road Warriors
The victory marks Indiana's sixth consecutive road playoff win and puts them just two victories away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. Siakam, who won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 before being traded to the Pacers in January 2024, has emerged as the veteran leader Indiana hoped for when acquiring him mid-season.
"We focus on ourselves, man," Siakam said when asked about the team's position. "We got a long way to go, and it's only gonna get tougher for us. We've just got to stick to the plan. We worry about one game, we're not really thinking ahead. We focus on Game 3 at home."
Game 3 is scheduled for Sunday night in Indianapolis, just hours after the completion of the Indianapolis 500 race, setting up a dramatic day of sports in the Indiana capital.
