Siakam flies Pacers back to Indiana with 2-0 lead
Pascal Siakam is a three-time All-Star who has carried an underrated label throughout most of his nine-year NBA career.
Rest assured that Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t view him that way.
Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks, 114-109, on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Myles Turner added 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who head home halfway to their second trip to the NBA Finals. They lost to the Lakers in 2000 in their only shot at the title.
“I just came out aggressive,” Siakam said. “At the end of the day, we’re a team. It doesn’t matter who scores. That’s what I love so much about this team is we don’t care who scores. We just want to win the game.
“I got it going early and the guys did a good job of finding me. Another night, it will be somebody else. That’s what makes us special.”
Game 3 is on Sunday in Indiana, though the Pacers might prefer to keep it right where it is. They have won six straight road games since falling at Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round.
Jalen Brunson had 36 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who need a quick turnaround or their first appearance in the conference finals in 25 years will be a brief one. They defended much better after their crushing collapse in a 138-135 overtime loss in Game 1, but couldn’t find enough scoring to come back after a bad start to the fourth quarter.
NBA Champion
Siakam has averaged more than 20 points in six straight seasons. He won an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and Carlisle views him as a vital cog in Indiana’s attempt to win one of its own.
“He’s a veteran who has been in these situations multiple times,” Carlisle said. “He understands the importance of patience and being disciplined and understanding the NBA playoffs are a process.
“He never forces it. When we get in a bind late in the shot clock, he can get a shot up to the rim and most of the time it goes in.”
Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each had 20 points and seven rebounds for third-seeded New York.
“Just take it one game at a time,” Bridges said. “I know it is 2-0 but it is still a long series. We just have to find different ways to advance.”
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only players to appear on every MVP ballot this season.
It only made sense that they would be unanimous All-NBA picks as well.
Gilgeous-Alexander—the league’s MVP—along with Jokic and Antetokounmpo, were unveiled on Friday night as first-team All-NBA players, along with Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.
Tatum was another unanimous first-team pick. Mitchell made the first team for the first time.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Tatum were all first-teamers last season as well.
