Pascal Siakam exploded for 39 points as the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 114-109 on Friday night to open up a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
The three-time All-Star’s playoff career-high points total was added to by Myles Turner, who had 16 points, and Tyrese Haliburton, who had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
The Pacers’ sixth consecutive win on the road leaves them in a commanding position ahead of their return to Indiana for Game 3, needing just two victories to reach what would be only their second ever NBA Finals. They lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
Siakam insisted, however, that he and his teammates were not getting distracted by the prospect of writing their names in franchise history.
“We focus on ourselves, man,” said the Cameroonian, who was an NBA champion in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors.
“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.”
On a night when no other Pacer had more than five baskets, Indiana had to rely on the 31-year-old, particularly early on when he scored all of the team’s first 11 points.
“Special game. In the first half, he was the guy that got us going, and got us through some difficult stretches,” said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle.
“It’s hard to score that number of points in a game like this, where you always have a physical matchup defensively, and there’s a guy crashing and flying at the basket. But he did a phenomenal job.”
The game could not have been any tighter at the end of the third quarter, with the teams tied on 81. A 13-4 run for the Pacers to begin the fourth put them in control, and they kept the Knicks at arm’s length for much of the remainder of the game.
But, after Siakam made it 110-100 with 2:45 remaining, New York – propelled by Jalen Brunson who had 36 points and 11 assists on the night – suddenly went on a 9-0 run to come within one point with 14 seconds left.
For a moment it looked like the Knicks might flip the script after the Pacers had mounted an incredible comeback in Game 1 on Wednesday night.
But two free throws from each of Aaron Nesmith and Turner, either side of a missed three-point attempt by Brunson, sealed the victory for Indiana.
The Knicks now have it all to do – no team in conference finals history has ever lost the first two games at home and gone on to win the series, per AP.
A dramatic day of sports in Indiana will see Game 3 take place on Sunday night, just hours after the Indy 500.
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