From the get-go in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, it was clear which team was playing with the desperation of a bunch hoping to avoid untimely elimination. It was the Knicks, down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals, who came out swinging, taking a 6-0 lead in the game and going on to lead it, wire-to-wire, topping the Pacers and sending the series back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 6.
Star forward Pascal Siakam flat-out admitted that the Knicks played harder than the Pacers. Guard Tyrese Haliburton said much the same things, but pointed to "the margins" as the place where the Pacers lost it.
“We weren’t great as a group,” Haliburton said. “I thought that we lost the margin battle today. They did a better job in the margins. We turned the ball over too much, didn’t rebound to our ability like we have shown this series. When you do those two things against these guys in a game that comes down to so many possessions, it’s tough.”
May 27, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) warms up prior to game four of the eastern conference finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) warms up prior to game four of the eastern conference finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
But the Pacers are still in control of this series, with a chance to finish off the Knicks at home. On Saturday, ahead of the game, the team posted a time-lapse image showing the court being dismantled from Friday's Indiana Fever game to Saturday's East finals game.
The Pacers' message: "It's gold time."
Certainly, the Pacers want a win to advance to the franchise's first NBA Finals since Larry Bird was courtside as coach in 2000. But they'd also really like to snap this series shut without having to return to a surely raucous MSG for Game 7, which would be played on Monday.
Siakam, for one, said he is ready.
“We’ve been a resilient team all year,” Siakam said. “I think we’ve shown so far that we can fight, we can bounce back. … It’s always been us against the world and I don’t expect it to change."