Pascal Siakam gets into testy postgame exchange after admitting Knicks played harder than Pacers in Game 5

The Pacers squandered a chance to close out the New York Knicks with Game 5’s 111-94 loss at Madison Square Garden, sending the Eastern Conference finals back to Indiana. Pascal Siakam got into an awkward exchange with a reporter following the contest after admitting the Pacers didn’t give the same effort that previously helped established a 3-1 lead in the series.

Pushed to elaborate, Siakam wasn’t having it.

“They played harder than us … we played hard, but they played harder,” Siakam said. “What’s your point, I don’t get it? That happens in a game that’s basketball.”

The awkward exchange continued with Siakam sayig “You good, bro? You’re looking for something, but I told you … what else do you want me to tell you … Who’s this guy, what’s your name, bro?”

The interaction was a microcosm of the frustrations shown throughout Game 5 during a sluggish effort from Indiana. The Knicks built an 11-point halftime lead and did not look back after turning up the heat defensively. A 12-0 spurt from New York in the third quarter after the Pacers had cut into the lead was the 

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle alluded to Indiana’s lack of poise in the aftermath.

“We obviously didn’t play with the level of force that we needed to,” Carlisle said. “We lost the rebound battle. We lost the turnover battle. We didn’t shoot well. They had a lot to do with it. So, give them a lot of credit and we’re going to have to play better.”

Siakam scored 15 points, his lowest total of the series. Cooling off Indiana’s hot shooting was the game plan for the Knicks, who limited Tyrese Haliburton to eight points and forced 20 turnovers.

“We’re a resilient group,” Haliburton said after the game. “We always want to respond when things don’t go well after a game like that. We understand what the stakes are. … We’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything.”

Siakam and the Pacers haven’t lost consecutive games in two months and have a chance to reach the NBA Finals with one more victory in the series.

“You’re going to have bad games,” Siakam said. “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.”