Pascal Siakam erupted for a playoff career-high 39 points Friday night, powering the Indiana Pacers to a crucial 114-109 win over the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Siakam caught fire immediately, scoring Indiana’s first 11 points and racking up 17 in the opening quarter alone.
He finished the night shooting a blistering 65.2% from the field (15-of-23) while adding five rebounds and three assists.
“He was the guy that got us going and got us through some difficult stretches,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “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. It’s a quiet 39 points. It really was.”
This marks Siakam’s third career 35-point playoff game with the Pacers, already placing him third in franchise history behind only Pacers legends Reggie Miller and Paul George.
Siakam has been everything Indiana hoped for since acquiring him from Toronto in January 2024. The three-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors has taken his game to another level during this playoff run.
“That’s why we brought him here,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “That’s what he’s here to do. He can get a bucket in so many different ways.”
Haliburton couldn’t hide his admiration for Siakam’s clutch performance.
“We just kept feeding him, and I thought he did a great job of making big shot after big shot after big shot. Killing momentum. When you’re in an environment like this, the crowd’s getting into it, a lot of those shots can be backbreakers.”
The Pacers showed impressive balance beyond Siakam’s dominance. Six Indiana players scored in double figures, with Haliburton adding 14 points and 11 assists.
Myles Turner came alive when it mattered most, scoring 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
For New York, Jalen Brunson fought valiantly with 36 points and 11 assists. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each contributed 20 points and seven rebounds, though Towns played just 28 minutes as coach Tom Thibodeau opted for more minutes from backup Mitchell Robinson.
The game was deadlocked at 81 after three quarters before Indiana seized control with a 13-4 run to start the fourth, capped by a Siakam three-pointer that made it 94-85 with 9:17 left.
The Pacers appeared to have the game in hand, leading 110-100 after another Siakam bucket with 2:45 remaining.
But the Knicks weren’t done. They stormed back with nine straight points, pulling within 110-109 on Josh Hart’s basket with just 14 seconds to go.
Aaron Nesmith steadied the Pacers with two clutch free throws before Brunson missed a potential game-tying three. Turner sealed the win with two more free throws.
The victory gives Indiana a commanding 2-0 series lead and marks their sixth straight road playoff win.
The odds now heavily favor the Pacers. NBA teams leading 2-0 in conference finals have a dominant 76-6 all-time record in best-of-seven series. Even more daunting for New York: no team has ever lost the first two games at home in the conference finals and come back to win the series.
The series now shifts to Indianapolis, where the Pacers will host the Knicks for Game 3 on Sunday night.
