Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam struggle in closeout opportunity against Jalen Brunson, Knicks

Closeout games are when NBA stars are needed the most. It’s why teams pay them the big bucks and in this case, it’s why the Pacers have Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton as the team’s highest-paid players.

With a shot at clinching an NBA Finals berth in Thursday’s Eastern Conference Game 5, they were almost invisible while Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the way to force a Game 6.

After having memorable Madison Square Garden performances — Siakam’s playoff-best Game 2 and Haliburton’s clutch Game 1 heroics — the duo were stifled by the Knicks in a 111-94 defeat. They couldn’t get loose like previous games and combined for 23 points on 7-of-20 shooting on Thursday night.

“Rough night for me,” Haliburton admitted postgame. “I gotta be better setting the tone, getting downhill. I feel like I didn’t do a great job of that, but I’ll watch the film. There were some different things they did defensively.”

Haliburton got a taste of his own medicine Thursday as he faced full-court pressure mostly from Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. The star, who averaged 24.3 points entering Game 5, didn’t even make his first shot till the 9:40 mark of the third quarter. He was quickly reminded of the Knicks’ pressure 16 seconds after when he attempted to drive through the paint for a layup but had the shot swatted out of bounds by Mitchell Robinson.

The third-quarter bucket was just one of two makes on a night he registered his poorest outing of the series: eight points, six assists and two rebounds.

For Siakam, his last MSG outing featured a 39-point performance, a playoff career-high for the nine-year veteran. He failed to even get close to that same success Thursday after logging 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The rotations were better. More importantly, the Pacers couldn’t get the frequent success on pick-and-roll actions against the Knicks like they’ve had all series. And the offensive possessions by Tom Thibodeau’s squad led to makes, disallowing the Pacers to get out on the break frequently.

Siakam’s explanation after the loss was simple: “They played harder than us.”

On the other side, Brunson and Towns delivered blow after blow in a game they led by as many as 22 points. There was no late comeback magic for the Pacers.

KAT and the captain wouldn’t allow it.

Brunson was hot from the start, scoring 12 points within the first nine minutes of Game 5. He cooled off then scored five straight right after halftime before converting a four-point play at the 2:56 mark to induce a deafening cheer at The Garden. They all contributed to a 32-point outing on 12-of-18 shooting.

Towns’ first barrage came as Thibodeau inserted him with reserves in the second quarter. He recorded 13 of his 24 points in the period, proving a banged-up knee wouldn’t slow him down after entering the matchup as a game-time decision.

Towns later served a pair of daggers in the final minutes of the fourth.

First, he blew by Siakam on the perimeter and finished over Bennedict Mathurin for an and-1 finish at the 2:44 mark. He went back for more 30 seconds later and scored on a dunk that put the Knicks’ lead at 18. He went 10-of-20 while logging 13 rebounds and three assists.

Finally, the MSG crowd witnessed an Eastern Conference Finals victory as the Pacers stars struggled.

There was no choke gestures by Haliburton. No groans after momentum-killing Siakam makes. But there was a standing ovation at the end that led to “Knicks in seven” chants.

The Garden crowd now hopes they can see their team one more time for Game 7 following another do-or-die matchup in Indiana on Saturday.

Haliburton and his team, though, have no doubt they can avoid a Game 7 while holding a 3-2 series lead.

“It’s one game,” Haliburton said of the Game 5 stinker. “I think their crowd’s excited as they should be. There’s a lot of energy in the building. I have the most confidence in myself and my group to play to our ability in Game 6. So I don’t think there’s any any need to panic by any means.”

Originally Published: May 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM EDT