Pascal Siakam’s ‘special game’ puts Pacers in driver’s seat: ‘That’s why we brought him here’

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NEW YORK — Pascal Siakam is a relatively quiet guy, choosing instead to let his game do the talking. On Friday night against the Knicks, and in front of a hostile Madison Square Garden crowd, his game was loud.

On a night when it took most of the first half for Tyrese Haliburton to score his first points, Siakam took over offensively for the Pacers right away and had one of the best performances of his career. Siakam scored Indiana’s first 11 points and had 23 at the half. He finished with a career-playoff-high 39 points to lead the Pacers to a 114-109 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals to go up 2-0 in the series.

“Whatever was out there, I just took it,” Siakam said. “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.

“I just try to play my game. Shoutout to my teammates for finding me and making sure that I stayed aggressive the whole game. It’s going to take all of us to get where we wanna get to.”

Siakam had a quiet 17 points in Game 1, but his presence was felt from just about everywhere in the second game of the series.

“That’s what I love so much about this team, we don’t care who scores, we just want to win the game…Another night it’s going to be somebody else, that’s what makes us special.”

Pascal Siakam with Allie LaForce after dropping a playoff career-high 39 points in our Game 2 win in… pic.twitter.com/wj4XIPTuc6

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 24, 2025

One of the most important pieces for the Pacers squad, Siakam was on fire, shooting 15 of 23 from the field, 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and 6 of 8 from the line. Siakam also added five rebounds, three assists and one steal. This time it wasn’t Haliburton or Aaron Nesmith. Whenever the home crowd would get into the game, Siakam would hit a shot that would silence them. The Knicks couldn’t stop him.

Pascal Siakam in Game 2:

39 PTS
15-23 FG
3-5 3P

The most points in a playoff game by a Pacer since Paul George. pic.twitter.com/wmrArv0W4Y

— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 24, 2025

Siakam came to the Pacers last season ahead of the trade deadline in January 2024 from the Toronto Raptors, where he’d spent more than eight seasons and was pivotal to their 2019 championship, to complement Haliburton.

“That’s why we brought him here. It’s what he’s here to do,” Haliburton said. “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.

“I think when you’re in an environment like this, the crowd is getting into it. A lot of those shots can be backbreakers at times. He just kept making big play after big play. He was amazing for us. A big reason why we won today.”

Indiana got out to an early double-digit lead, but the Knicks responded. Much of the game was back and forth with 17 ties and 17 lead changes and for a while it looked like it was anybody’s game. Whenever New York would score, the Pacers would quickly get a basket at the other end, killing any hopes of a big run.

“What are we doing?!” a frustrated Knicks fan yelled.

The Pacers outscored New York 14-7 on fast break points and 10 of those belonged to Siakam, who leaked out on defensive possessions and got a running start to beat the Knicks down the floor for quick baskets.

SIAKAM UP TO 18 POINTS ALREADY 🔥

Just two minutes into the 2Q of Game 2 on TNT! pic.twitter.com/Wq9k159VxJ

— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2025

“Special game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “In the first half, he was the guy that got us going and got us through some really difficult stretches. He really 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.”

SIAKAM 3 FOR 26 POINTS 🎯

2H of Game 2 underway on TNT! pic.twitter.com/RMsTRZF7gu

— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2025

A leader in the Indiana locker room, Siakam said he’s been “preaching the same thing” to his teammates.

“We can’t ride the waves,” he said. “We can’t get too high with the highs and too low with the lows. I just appreciate the opportunity that I have here to have a bunch of guys (who) want to hear my voice. They want me to say something.”

Indiana shot 51.8 percent from the field and six different Pacers scored in double figures, including all five starters. Big man Myles Turner had 16 points and three rebounds, including one in the fourth quarter off a Jalen Brunson missed 3 that helped seal the game. Despite an off-shooting night, Haliburton still finished with 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Indiana played 11 players and the Pacers’ much-talked-about depth was once again key in helping dampen the Knicks’ hopes of breaking their own long NBA Finals appearance drought. TJ McConnell scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting with three assists and Ben Sheppard’s six points came off two critical 3-pointers, including one in the fourth quarter.

“(I was) just finding my spots and being confident in my shot. Just playing through the flows of the game,” Sheppard said.

This was the seventh consecutive playoff game in which Indiana scored at least 100 points and had at least 25 assists. They also turned the ball over only 10 times. The Pacers are outscoring the Knicks 44-16 off turnovers in the series.

Tonight marks the SEVENTH consecutive game that the Pacers have totaled 100+ points and 25+ assists.

Just the 3rd time a team has done this in the playoffs since 1987 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3AzkHQuGj2

— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2025

Since the loss to Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round, Indiana has won six straight road games. The Pacers are just two wins from their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.

“It’s only going to get tougher for us,” Siakam said.

Indiana, with its 2-0 series lead, has an opportunity to send New York to the brink of elimination in Game 3, which tips off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

(Photo of Pascal Siakam: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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