Just two days after their 17 -point comeback in the fourth period of the first game, the Indiana Pacers again assaulted the Madison Square Garden in New York, This time with a recital by Pascal Siakam, to take 2-0 advantage in the East Finals.
Siakam domino from principle to fin y The game ended with 39 points, the result of 15 of 23 in field shots, three of five in triples, to which he added four rebounds, three assists and a robbery for just a ball loss.
He directed some paers who are still unstoppable away from home in these 'playoffs', where they have a balance of six wins for just one defeat. The numbers are by your side. On the 82 occasions in which a franchise took 2-0 advantage in some conference finals, 76 times ended up planting in the finals.
And if Siakam was a sniper, The Pacers also wore their group strength with their titular quintet that ended double digits. Tyrese Haliburton, the hero of the triumph of the first game, achieved fourteen points, eight rebounds and eleven assists; Myles Turner put 16 points and sentenced the game from the free line, while Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith contributed twelve points each.
The Pacers have the opportunity to sentence the series in Indiana, headquarters of the next two meetings, next Saturday and Monday.
For Knicks, supported by Madison Square Garden by An endless series of celebrities, including extenist John Mcenroe, were two very hard losses to digest.
Jalen Brunson continues to wear star numbers and He contributed 36 points and eleven assists tonight, but still unable to rescue his team. Mikal Bridges and Karl Anthony Towns got 20 points and seven rebounds and Og Anunoby put 16 points for New Yorkers, called an epic feat to change the dynamics of this series.
Monologue of Siakam
Siakam didn't take long to make it clear that this would be his party. He put 16 of Indiana's 24 points in the first period and 21 of the first 31 of his team, in just over fifteen minutes. He already took 23 points to the crash equator.
He led to the defense of the Knicks and sustained some Pacers who starred in a spectacular exchange of blows with the New Yorkers, with constant leader changes in the scoreboard. All this with a modest Haliburton contribution, which only connected one of its seven shots.
Brunson, chosen this Friday as a member of the second team of the year, took the Knicks with 17 points and Towns showed the muscles with twelve points and four rebounds that served the locals to take three points ahead to the rest.
The fifteen minutes of pause did not suffice the Knicks to find solutions against Siakam. The NBA champion with the Raptors, who signed the best first half of his career in the 'playoffs', continued to desperate the rival defense with a perfect four of four and Nine points that raised their personal account to 32 in three segments.
And he found an ally on Haliburton, whose nine points kept the confidence of some paers who launched with 68 % success in the third period and prepared the land to give their first blow to the clash.
They did it with a 11-2 in the opening of the fourth period that gave them advantage 94-85 tIt ras a new triple of Siakam that sowed panic in the stadium.
Mitchell Robinson gave a monumental contribution in the painting for the Knicks, but their problems with the free were used by the Pacers to continue stepping on the accelerator. Siakam placed a great triple for 108-99 with just over three minutes to play and, to the backlash, he climbed the luminous 110-100, with 2.35 in the stopwatch.
The Knicks were against the wall, but at the time of need Brunson took a step forward. He put five points in a row and led a 9-0 that put just a point between the two franchises with 14.7 seconds to play.
The non -trembling paersn. The Knicks sent Nesmith and Turner to the line of free and the four of Indiana four was worth a 2-0 that leaves the finals to two wins.
