Game ID: 42400302
Indiana Pacers @ New York Knicks
Friday, May 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 26 26 29 28 109IND 24 25 32 33 114
IND @ NYK ScoutingIND @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 9 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 6 min since (30% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/10 after 8, 3 min since (22% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 14)
NEW Bridges 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 10 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 4 min since (21% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/10 after 8, 3 min since (22% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 14)
NEW Bridges 37 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/16 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 11 since 4/19, returns tonight: 4 min (28% of 16)
OUT Wright missed 2 since 5/12, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 4 min since (20% of 18)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 3 min since (21% of 14)
NEW Bridges 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/21 · 4 days' restOUT Wright missed 3 since 5/12, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 14)
BACK Tucker back 5/16 after 11, 4 min since (28% of 16)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 4 min since (26% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restBACK Tucker back 5/16 after 11, 4 min since (28% of 16)
BACK Wright back 5/10 after 8, 2 min since (13% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 4 min since (26% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Achiuwa missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Tucker missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 2 since 5/21, returns tonight: 11 min (83% of 14)
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 0 min since (3% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/27 · 1 day's restOUT Achiuwa missed 3 since 5/21, returns tonight: 2 min (13% of 18)
OUT Tucker missed 3 since 5/21, out tonight
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 7 min since (49% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/25 after 2, 11 min since (83% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/29 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 4 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Payne missed 2 since 5/25, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/27 after 3, 2 min since (13% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 8 min since (55% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/25 after 2, 11 min since (82% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/31 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 5 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Payne missed 3 since 5/25, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/27 after 3, 4 min since (22% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 8 min since (59% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/25 after 2, 12 min since (89% of 14)
IND availability going into 5/09 · 2 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 83 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 11 min since (63% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 84 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 85 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/21 · 7 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 86 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 87 since 11/04, out tonight
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 88 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/27 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 89 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 3 since 5/21, out tonight
NEW Nembhard 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Nesmith 26 to 31 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/29 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 90 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 4 since 5/21, returns tonight: 13 min (88% of 15)
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 5/25, returns tonight: 5 min (37% of 13)
NEW Nembhard 30 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Nesmith 26 to 33 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/31 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 91 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Walker back 5/29 after 4, 13 min since (88% of 15)
BACK Bryant back 5/29 after 2, 5 min since (37% of 13)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 19 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (87 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-7 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Indiana at 39 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it New York 117, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
5/12 vs BOS 121-113 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-113. NYK shot 54% (50 of 92) to BOS's 48%, 12 of 34 from three, and got to the line 12 times to BOS's 26. The glass went 43-31 for them. Brunson led with 39 (14 of 25, 4 of 8 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Bridges added 23, Towns 23. The hinge was Q3, 37-23: NYK came in trailing by 11 and left it ahead by 3. NYK trailed 51-62 at the half and won the second half 70-51. Bridges was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
5/14 @ BOS 102-127 — NYK notes
NYK lost 102-127. NYK shot 36% (29 of 81) to BOS's 52%, 12 of 30 from three, and went to the line 40 times to BOS's 26 — 32 points from the stripe to their 17. Hart led with 24 (7 of 15, 5 of 9 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Brunson added 22, Towns 19. Q1 was theirs, 32-30, but the other 3 periods went 97-70 against them. Bridges's -25 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/16 vs BOS 119-81 — NYK notes
NYK won 119-81. NYK shot 46% (42 of 91) to BOS's 36%, 16 of 45 from three, and went to the line 21 times to BOS's 10 — 19 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 55-36 for them. Anunoby led with 23 (7 of 18, 4 of 13 from three); Brunson added 23, Bridges 22. The hinge was Q2, 38-17: a lead of 6 became 27, and the lead reached 41. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
5/21 vs IND 135-138 — NYK notes
NYK lost 135-138 in 1 overtime. NYK shot 51% (48 of 94) to IND's 51%, 11 of 34 from three, and went to the line 40 times to IND's 28 — 28 points from the stripe to their 21. NYK turned it over 15 times to IND's 7. Brunson led with 43 (15 of 25, 1 of 6 from three, 12 of 14 at the line); Towns added 35, Bridges 16. Q2 was theirs, 33-28, but the other 4 periods went 110-102 against them. They led by as many as 17. Bridges's -15 in 46 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/23 vs IND 109-114 — NYK notes
NYK lost 109-114. NYK shot 48% (40 of 84) to IND's 52%, 11 of 32 from three. Brunson led with 36 (13 of 27, 5 of 12 from three); Bridges added 20, Towns 20. Q1 was theirs, 26-24, but the other 3 periods went 90-83 against them. Towns's -20 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/25 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (88 straight), Walker (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Achiuwa (2 straight), Tucker (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-7 and the arc, Indiana at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Indiana 117, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
5/27 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 21 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (89 straight), Walker (3 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Achiuwa (3 straight), Tucker (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-3 and the line, where New York takes 30 free throws a game to Indiana's 25. Call it Indiana 116, New York 113, New York keeping it close.
5/29 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Tucker (4 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Siakam at 25 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (90 straight), Walker (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the turnovers, New York giving it away 14 times a game to Indiana's 11. Call it New York 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/31 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 29 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (91 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Tucker (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-6 a night and Indiana minus-6. Call it Indiana 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
5/09 vs CLE 104-126 — IND notes
IND lost 104-126. IND shot 44% (35 of 80) to CLE's 42%, 9 of 30 from three. The glass went 37-56 against them. Mathurin led with 23 (6 of 11, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Siakam added 18, Turner 15. Q3 was theirs, 34-31, the deficit cut from 21 to 18, but the other 3 periods went 95-70 against them. Nembhard's -32 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 vs CLE 129-109 — IND notes
IND won 129-109. IND shot 53% (49 of 93) to CLE's 43%, 15 of 35 from three, and got to the line 20 times to CLE's 40. IND turned it over 10 times to CLE's 22. Siakam led with 21 (9 of 10); Turner added 20, Toppin 20. The hinge was Q2, 42-16: a lead of 15 became 41, and the lead reached 44. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
5/13 @ CLE 114-105 — IND notes
IND won 114-105. IND shot 50% (41 of 82) to CLE's 39%, 15 of 35 from three, and got to the line 22 times to CLE's 37. Haliburton led with 31 (10 of 15, 6 of 10 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Siakam added 21, Nembhard 18. The hinge was Q3, 33-20: IND came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 9. IND trailed 52-56 at the half and won the second half 62-49. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
5/21 @ NYK 138-135 — IND notes
IND won 138-135 in 1 overtime. IND shot 51% (51 of 100) to NYK's 51%, 15 of 37 from three, and got to the line 28 times to NYK's 40. IND turned it over 7 times to NYK's 15. Haliburton led with 31 (12 of 23, 4 of 12 from three); Nesmith added 30, Siakam 17. The hinge was Q3, 25-21: the deficit went from 7 to 3. IND trailed 62-69 at the half and won the second half 76-66. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
5/23 @ NYK 114-109 — IND notes
IND won 114-109. IND shot 52% (43 of 83) to NYK's 48%, 13 of 30 from three. Siakam led with 39 (15 of 23, 3 of 5 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Turner added 16, Haliburton 14. The hinge was Q4, 33-28: from level to 5 ahead. IND trailed 49-52 at the half and won the second half 65-57. Turner was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
5/25 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (88 straight), Walker (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Achiuwa (2 straight), Tucker (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-7 and the arc, Indiana at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Indiana 117, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
5/27 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 21 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (89 straight), Walker (3 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Achiuwa (3 straight), Tucker (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-3 and the line, where New York takes 30 free throws a game to Indiana's 25. Call it Indiana 116, New York 113, New York keeping it close.
5/29 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Tucker (4 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Siakam at 25 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (90 straight), Walker (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the turnovers, New York giving it away 14 times a game to Indiana's 11. Call it New York 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/31 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 29 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (91 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Tucker (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-6 a night and Indiana minus-6. Call it Indiana 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKCP C. Payne
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TB T. Bradley
TB T. Bryant
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
NYK/IND the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Pacers take 2-0 lead over Knicks as Pascal Siakam scores 39 points in 114-109 victory
NEW YORK -- — The Indiana Pacers are headed home, halfway to a chance to play for an elusive NBA title.
They might prefer to stay right where they are.
Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points, and the Pacers beat the New York Knicks 114-109 on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
Game 3 is Sunday night in Indiana, which will be rocking all day long with the Indianapolis 500 being run that afternoon. The Pacers can only hope to be as good there as they've been on the road, where they have won six straight games since falling at Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round.
“We have a long way to go and it’s only going to get tougher for us,” Siakam said.
Myles Turner added 16 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who lost to the Lakers in 2000 in their only NBA Finals appearance.
Siakam finished 15 for 23 from the field on a night nobody else on the high-scoring Pacers had more than five baskets.
“Special game,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “In the first half he was the guy that got us going and got us through some difficult stretches.”
Jalen Brunson had 36 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who need a quick turnaround or their first appearance in the conference finals in 25 years will be a brief one. They defended much better after their crushing collapse in a 138-135 overtime loss in Game 1, but couldn't find enough scoring to come back after a bad start to the fourth quarter.
Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns each had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, but Towns played just 28 minutes as coach Tom Thibodeau went longer with backup Mitchell Robinson , a much better defender who grabbed nine rebounds.
No team has lost the first two games at home and come back to win a series in the conference finals.
“Going into the fourth quarter it’s a tie ballgame. We've just got to make better plays, more winning plays,” Thibodeau said.
It was tied at 81 after three, before the Pacers opened the fourth with a 13-4 run to move ahead 94-85 on Siakam’s 3-pointer with 9:17 remaining. They would quickly push the margin back to around there every time the Knicks got any momentum, and it was 110-100 after another basket by Siakam with 2:45 to play.
The Knicks scored nine straight to make it 110-109 on Josh Hart’s basket with 14 seconds to go. Aaron Nesmith made two free throws for the Pacers, Brunson was well off on a 3-point attempt and Turner finished it out with two free throws.
The 50th playoff meeting between the rivals — the Pacers lead 28-22, all since 1993 — more closely resembled their defensive battles of the 1990s than the shootout of two nights earlier.
Indiana raced to a 19-9 lead, but the Knicks quickly caught them when Robinson and Deuce McBride entered and the game remained within a single-digit margin nearly the entire rest of the night.