Jalen Brunson, Knicks Criticized By NBA Fans as Haliburton, Pacers Take 2-0 ECF Lead

Pascal Siakam scored 39 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 114-109 road win over the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday evening.

Tyrese Haliburton added 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who led the Knicks 110-100 in the fourth quarter before New York went on a 9-0 run late.

Two Aaron Nesmith free throws gave the Pacers a 112-109 edge, giving the Knicks the chance to tie with 14 seconds left.

However, a long Jalen Brunson three was off the mark. Pacers center Myles Turner got the rebound and made two free throws for the five-point lead with 4.2 seconds left. A late Brunson three was off, and the Pacers earned a 2-0 series lead to take back home.

Brunson posted 36 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges added 20 apiece.

This was a back-and-forth game before Indiana took control in the fourth quarter. The Knicks finally got hot late, but it wasn't enough, and now Indiana has complete control of this series.

Siakam's 39 points came on 15-of-23 shooting, and he posted 23 over the first two quarters, or nearly 50 percent of Indiana's 49 first half points. He kept the Pacers in the game as the rest of the team struggled to get going.

But the rest of the team matched his intensity and production late. A common theme in the fourth quarter was a Pacer hitting a key bucket (usually a three) and preventing the Knicks from making a run.

Aaron Nesmith hit a three to put the Pacers up 97-89 after a quick 5-0 Bridges run. Myles Turner made a three to answer a Bridges bucket for a 103-97 edge. And Tyrese Haliburton connected on a clutch triple to answer two Brunson free throws for a 106-99 advantage.

Indiana made five threes in the fourth quarter alone, and Turner in particular was a massive problem with 13 of his 16 points coming in the final 11 minutes.

Ultimately, that showcases the story of this series. On a night where the Pacers' All-NBA star, Haliburton, didn't do much offensively (5-of-16 shooting), he could count on his teammates and the Pacers' depth to help out. Siakam carried the team all game, and Turner was sensational in the fourth.

Meanwhile, the Knicks had a few problems.

First, Brunson carried much of the the offensive burden. Save for one Josh Hart layup (off a Brunson assist) with 15 seconds left, no other player outside Brunson or Bridges made a shot in the fourth quarter (you can tack on the final 2:30 of the third quarter as well for this stretch).

The Knicks also got little scoring help from the bench (11 points compared to 21 for the Pacers' reserves).

Second, Karl-Anthony Towns had a quiet offensive night compared to his standard (20 points) and was minus-20 because the team's defense was not up to par with him on the court. On this evening, New York fared far better with reserve big man Mitchell Robinson, whose energy, rebounding and defensive efforts prevented Indiana from pulling away.

In addition, the Knicks' defense was porous again. New York's defense hasn't been its calling card this year (No. 14 in efficiency, per Basketball-Reference), but it's failed when needed most in this series. New York allowed 20 points in the final 2:39 in regulation en route to losing Game 1. In Game 2, the Knicks simply gave up too many wide-open buckets, both in the paint and beyond the three-point line. It was a common theme that ultimately put far more pressure on the offense (Brunson) to produce than needed.

And with that, the Knicks' backs are against the wall. They go into Indiana needing one win out of two just to keep the series alive.

Ultimately, this has been a tough effort despite an amazing season for a team that's made the conference finals for the first time since 2000. This series would obviously have a much different feel had the Knicks not blown a 14-point lead with 2:45 remaining in regulation in Game 1 before losing 138-135 in overtime.

But that happened, and the Knicks couldn't rebound in Game 2.

Fans and analysts posted about the Knicks' efforts on Friday.

New York will hope for a much-needed win Sunday when the team visits Indiana for Game 3 at 8 p.m. ET.