The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers faced off in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series on Friday night. The Pacers pulled off a miraculous comeback in Game 1 behind star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers stunned the Knicks again on Friday night, this time behind the stellar play of forward and former NBA champion Pascal Siakam. Siakam finished with a playoff career-high 39 points on 15-of-23 shooting and added five rebounds and three assists.
“That’s why we brought him here,” Haliburton said of his teammate’s performance, according to ESPN. “That’s what he’s here to do. He can get a bucket in so many different ways.
“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.”
As great as Siakim was on Friday, he’s making sure to keep himself and his teammates grounded and focused on their main goal.
“You can’t ride a wave,” he said. “Can’t get too high with the highs, can’t get too low with the lows. I just appreciate the opportunity that I have here to have a bunch of guys that they want to hear my voice.”
“What’s really special about our group right now is we just have so many different people contributing,” Haliburton said of the Pacers’ depth. “So many people doing special things.”
The Pacers are now just one win away from the all-but-clinching 3-0 series lead, with the next game coming in Indianapolis.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.