Pascal Siakam dazzles as Pacers open playoffs with win

Indiana takes advantage with homecourt advantage

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The hypotheticals immediately go out the window. The basketball is here. The Pacers have Nembhard going under screens in the backcourt, they're starting Siakam on Antetokounmpo and switching the 4-5 actions. The theme of this series: Giannis vs Pacers bore out in the 15-8 run that opened the game in the Pacers favor. The Pacers favoring, erm, pace, movement, depth. The Bucks handing the ball repeatedly to their star and asking for a world of creation. 

The teams exchanged runs, as the Pacers cycled through a bevy of great looks across their roster, and Antetokounmpo provided that always dependable jumbo creation to stabilize the Bucks. Antetokounmpo played the first 11 minutes, scored 12 points, took 8 free throws (making half), and generally influenced everything. The Pacers sprayed the ball around and took an 8-point lead into the 2nd quarter despite getting 0 points from Tyrese Haliburton. Different strokes for different folks. NBA playoffs, baby.

Similar to last playoffs, Siakam's presence was damn near everything for the Pacers. Existing within the offense, not demanding much, but clinical when getting to his spot. 12 points on 5-6 shooting to open things up, in addition to his size and mobility helping to hold things down on the defensive end. He and the bench crew were passable while throwing counter punches at the Bucks - who were subsisting on some shot making from KPJ & GTJ. 

A very important subplot: Jarace Walker hit his first triple and is passable on Antetokounmpo early. The Pacers desperately need his size and his fouls to survive the Bucks MVP candidate. 

A second very important subplot: Bennedict Mathurin is being used defensively to slow down the Bucks secondary creators, and he is providing heaps of offensive punch - which is something the Pacers need, and especially in Mathurin's style. The Bucks are a big team with big guys, and Mathurin is more than willing to bash and mash on his way to the cup. 

The proverbial tidal wave of pace crashed on the Bucks. The Indiana crowd counted down Antetokounmpo's free throws in one booming voice as he bricked them. Haliburton drove some switches for points. Nembhard continued his quiet, playoff excellence that everyone has come to expect. The Bucks shot 2-16 from downtown in the first half. A 34-18 second quarter put the Pacers up by 24.

A lot of the linchpin matchups and tactics had bent in favor of the Pacers, and the shot making did as well. Running roughshod, as it were. 

Two of the main focuses of my Pacers coverage – Siakam & Nembhard – doing the damn thing to lead the team in the first half and to open for them in the second. A few minutes into the third quarter, the duo had combined for 34 points on 15/18 shooting. All the hallmarks were there. The decel and bump on a giant, and the extended spacing left wing triple from Nembhard. Catch and shoot triples from Siakam (which he has really turned around as a Pacer) and the perfectly managed post ups to go along with them. Exhibiting elite control against a wide range of post defenders, from Antetokounmpo to Kuzma. 

The zone looks didn't even flummox the Pacers.

Not to mention Haliburton & Turner, despite not being the defining players early on, were doing their part. Turner started to hold up, like really hold up, on the defensive end while launching triples on the other - the shot that opened up the scoring of the 2025 playoffs. Haliburton, as per usual, moving the Pacers through everything, quietly threatening each moment, even though his shots weren't falling. +24 at this point with 10 assists. 

86-63 Pacers. 

The pace slowed the longer the 3rd quarter had gone on. That favored the Bucks, as they scraped and clawed their way back to a 15-point deficit. A lot of swing-swing-swing from the Pacers with very little danger. Not enough punch. On the other end, Antetokounmpo kept rolling the boulder up the hill on his way to 31 points before the final frame even began. A brash, pull-up middy from Haliburton with .1 seconds left allowed the Pacers to roll into the 4th with a 17 point lead. 

TJ McConnell picked it up where Haliburton left it, as he hit 3 separate pull up middies across 6 Pacers possessions. With the game slowing, and things getting a bit wonky, and against the Bucks zone, that shot making to sustain things was major. He and Siakam both worked tirelessly to try and manufacture looks. The mid-range, oft forgotten, helped the Pacers push their lead back above 20, and without any of Haliburton, Turner, or Nembhard on the floor. Top notch. 104-83. 

The shotmaking pendulum did swing, though. AJ Green and Trent Jr. combined for 4 triples in very short order, as Haliburton and the Pacers missed on the other end. Antetokounmpo checked back in. Siakam checked back in. The Bucks are playing, probably, their best lineup - the one that includes KPJ-GTJ-AJ-Portis-Giannis. Showtime.

Pacers wedge roll Siakam for looks and get nothing. One of their best late game plays. Turner takes a handoff above the break and hits a step back triple. Bang. Bucket. That's the playoffs for you. Turner broke the defensive gridlock these teams were entrenched in, and climbed up to 19 points on the night. 

Haliburton drives a switch against Antetokounmpo and gets to the line. Bucks challenge and lose. Siakam & Lillard talk trash. Offsetting technicals. Lots of things adjacent to basketball. Siakam & Nembhard double Antetokounmpo and force a travel. Siakam hits a floater in the lane, then draws an offensive foul as Connaughton catches him with a running ‘bow. 2 free throws. 25 points on 10-15 shooting. Calm, cool, and collected as he guided the Pacers to a win on the opening day of the playoffs.

The Bucks have an opportunity to lean on better lineups going forward, and to change some things in game 2. However, this was a really strong opener for the Pacers. Winning a playoff game with Haliburton going 3-13 from the floor and 0-7 from three is no joke. Tough team. 

Have a blessed day.