Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks to get a 2-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
The Indiana Pacers are in their midst of a chance to win an elusive NBA title when they return home in the Eastern Conference Finals, but they may prefer to stay where they are.
Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points on Friday night. They scored 39 points as the Pacers defeated the New York Knicks 114-109.
As a result, Pacer has a 2-0 lead in the playoffs after the first two games of the series at the Knicks’ Madison Square Garden Home Arena.
Game 3 takes place on Sunday night in Indiana. Indiana will run that afternoon, the Indianapolis 500 and lock up all day. The Pacers can expect to be as much there as they have won six consecutive games since falling to Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round.
“We have a long way to go and it’s just going to be tougher for us,” Siakam said.
Miles Turner added 16 points, while Tyreese Halliburton had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to the Pacers, losing to the Lakers in his only NBA Finals appearance in 2000.
Siakam finished 15 at 23 from the field on a night when no one else in the high-scoring pacer had more than five baskets.
“It’s a special game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “In the first half he was the guy who left us and got through some difficult stretches.”
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points and 11 assists for the Knicks. He needs a simple turnaround or their first appearance in the first meeting final in 25 years. They defended much better after collapsed with a 138-135 overtime loss in Game 1, but were unable to find enough scores to come back after a bad start to the fourth quarter.
Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthonytowns each had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, but town played in just 28 minutes. Manager Tom Thibodeau was long with Mitchell Robinson, a much better defender who grabbed nine rebounds.
No team has returned to lose their first two games at home and win a series in the conference finals.
“When we enter the fourth quarter, it’s a tie ball game. We just have to make better plays, more winning plays,” Thibodeau said.
The Pacers opened their fourth with a 13-4 run and tied at 81 at 3am before Shiakam’s three-pointer moved forward for the remaining 94-85 with 9:17. Every time the Knicks gained momentum, they quickly pushed the margins back all over, 110-100 after another basket of Siakam at 2:45.
The Knicks scored nine straights to get 110-109 in 14 seconds with Josh Hart’s basketball. Aaron Nesmith made two free throws for the Pacers, with Branson leaving enough on a three-point attempt, and Turner finished it with two free throws.
50th Playoff Meeting between Rivals – The Pacers have led 28-22 since 1993, but were more similar to the defensive battles of the 1990s than the two-night shootout of the 1990s.
Indiana took a 19-9 lead, but when Robinson and Deuce McBride came in, the Knicks quickly caught them, and the game remained within single-digit margins for almost the entire night.