NEW YORK -- After a quiet performance from Pascal Siakam in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Indiana Pacers entered Friday night's matchup against the New York Knicks determined to get him more involved in the offense.
It worked from the opening tip.
Siakam rattled off Indiana's first 11 points, scored 17 in the first quarter overall and finished with a playoff career-high 39 points on 15-of-23 shooting to go with five rebounds and three assists. The performance helped silence the crowd at Madison Square Garden and gave the Pacers a 114-109 victory that put them ahead 2-0 in the series as it shifts to Indianapolis for Game 3 on Sunday.
"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.
"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."
Siakam won a championship with the 2019 Raptors, and the Pacers have leaned on his experience since they acquired him in a trade with Toronto in January 2024.
Siakam offered his usual advice to his teammates Friday night: Despite their series advantage, it was important not to get too ahead of themselves.
"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."
Siakam's leadership is valuable, but the Pacers also have benefited from his scoring prowess during their consecutive runs to the conference finals. This was his third career 35-point game in the playoffs with the Pacers, already the third most all time (trailing only Reggie Miller and Paul George), according to ESPN Research.
"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."
Siakam has been matched up in this series with his former Raptors teammate, Knicks forward OG Anunoby, which he said gives him additional incentive. Anunoby held Siakam to 0-for-3 on field goal attempts in the series opener, but Siakam was 4-for-6 when guarded by him Friday.
"It's amazing that we're both in a position where we get to compete at this level coming from Toronto," Siakam said. "It just gives you extra motivation. You just choose to compete at a higher level. I know how hard a competitor he is."
Siakam was one of six Pacers who scored in double figures. Haliburton added 14 points and 11 assists, and Myles Turner scored 13 of his 16 in the fourth quarter.
"What's really special about our group right now is we just have so many different people contributing," Haliburton said. "So many people doing special things."
The balanced attack helped the Pacers pick up their sixth consecutive road win this postseason as they improved to 6-1. But Carlisle implored his team to stay focused despite jumping to a series advantage.
"There are a lot of traps here," Carlisle said. "You cannot assume going home is going to be easier. It never is. Each game as you ascend in a playoff series becomes harder. And New York, they've got an amazing fighting spirit."