The Indiana Pacers turned in their weakest offensive showing of the playoffs during Thursday night’s 111-94 loss to the New York Knicks. Despite failing to seal the series, star forward Pascal Siakam stressed that there’s no reason to hit the panic button.
One reason the Pacers remained unfazed after Thursday’s loss was the confidence of heading back home with a 3-2 series lead. Indiana hasn’t lost consecutive games since March, and Pascal Siakam expressed optimism about responding strongly in front of their home crowd.
“You're going to have bad games,” Siakam remarked during his post-game interview. “This is the NBA, and there's going to be times where a team is going to play hard. In fact, they're going to beat you.
“It is just all about us, man. It's always been us against the world, and I don't expect it to change. … We are 3-2 in a series and we have an opportunity to go back home and show what we're made of,” the Pacers forward continued.
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The Pacers remain ahead in the series 3-2, with Game 6 set for Saturday night in Indianapolis. But in Game 5, they failed to take the lead at any point, as New York controlled the game from start to finish to extend the series.
The Pacers come up short against the Knicks
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) and forward Pascal Siakam (43) in the third quarter during game five of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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Indiana’s offense never found its rhythm—the starting lineup managed only 37 points, the second-lowest total by any team’s starters in this postseason. The Pacers also gave the ball away 20 times, marking their most turnovers in a playoff game this year.
Thursday's setback was also the first time during this playoff run that Indiana was kept below the 100-point threshold.
Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to lead the Pacers with 23 points, while Pascal Siakam paced the starters with 15. Aside from Obi Toppin, who chipped in 11 points as a reserve, no other Indiana player reached double digits.
Following his historic showing in Game 4, Tyrese Haliburton had a quiet night in Game 5, finishing with just eight points on 2-of-7 shooting and six assists. The seven shot attempts marked his lowest of the postseason. He contributed to only 24% of Indiana’s total points—either by scoring or assisting—compared to 41% across the first four games of the series.
“Nobody had us being here right now. We are up 3-2 in the conference finals. That’s amazing. I’m so proud of my team and how hard we have been playing,” Siakam added.
The Indiana Pacers can’t afford to let Game 6 slip away. With the series returning to their home floor, this is their best opportunity to close it out. While the Knicks are still trailing 3-2, they’ve shown plenty of fight. Statistically, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns have formed one of the most reliable duos in recent conference finals history — rivaling the consistency once seen from Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.