Pascal Siakam carries Pacers to Game 2 win over Knicks

Siakam led all scorers in the Pacers' 114-109 win over the New York Knicks with 39 points, giving his team huge momentum heading to Indianapolis with a 2-0 series lead. Jalen Brunson nearly matched Siakam's scoring with 36 points, shooting 13-of-27, but the Pacers' big man put up his huge numbers on only 23 shots, going 15-of-23.

Indiana roared back from 14 points down in the final minutes to steal Game 1, and the roles were nearly reversed in Game 2. After Siakam's layup gave the Pacers a 10-point lead with 2:45 to play, it was the Knicks who had a frantic comeback. Brunson hit two shots and assisted on a Josh Hart layup that brought the Knicks to within a point with 14 seconds left.

But the comeback fell short as the Pacers made their free throws, and Brunson missed a game-tying three with eight seconds to go. On a night where Indiana's superior three-point shooting made the difference, Siakam's 3-of-5 performance behind the arc was huge.

It was Siakam's fifth playoff game with 30+ points and perhaps his biggest scoring performance since he put up 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He's now a 49.2 percent shooter in 82 career playoff games. Since Siakam became a starter, his teams are 43-27 in the playoffs.

Perhaps most important is that the Pacers are 18-11 in the postseason since trading for Siakam. And they're up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.