NEW YORK — The Indiana Pacers performed their worst offensive recreation of the postseason in Thursday evening’s 111-94 loss to the New York Knicks, however regardless of lacking an opportunity to shut out the sequence, star guard Tyrese Haliburton emphasised there was “no have to panic.”
“We’re a resilient group,” Haliburton stated after the sport. “We all the time need to reply when issues do not go nicely after a recreation like that. We perceive what the stakes are. … We’re superb. There isn’t any have to panic or something.”
The Pacers nonetheless lead the sequence 3-2, with Sport 6 on Saturday evening in Indianapolis.
Indiana by no means led in Sport 5 as New York pulled off a wire-to-wire victory with its season on the road. In the meantime, the Pacers’ offense by no means bought began. Their beginning 5 mixed for simply 37 factors, the second fewest for a crew in a recreation this postseason, and the Pacers had 20 turnovers, their most in a recreation throughout these playoffs.
Thursday’s loss additionally marked the primary time this postseason that Indiana was held underneath 100 factors.
“To start out the sport, we simply did not have the precise stage of drive, the precise stage of perspective essential on this atmosphere,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated. “It was a foul begin; we by no means had a lead within the recreation. There have been a mess of issues that have been going incorrect. There have been stretches within the recreation the place we bought a bit little bit of traction, however by no means sufficient.”
Bennedict Mathurin scored a team-high 23 factors off the bench, and Pascal Siakam led the starters in scoring with 15. However Obi Toppin, who had 11 factors off the bench, was the one different Pacers participant in double figures.
After placing up a historic stat line in Sport 4, Haliburton struggled to remain concerned on offense Thursday evening, scoring eight factors on 2-of-7 capturing with six assists. His seven shot makes an attempt have been his fewest in any recreation this postseason, and he scored or assisted on 24% (23 of 94) of the Pacers’ factors, in response to ESPN Analysis. In Video games 1 by way of 4, Haliburton scored or assisted on 41% of his crew’s factors.
“I bought to be higher, and I will be higher in Sport 6,” Haliburton stated. “We bought to be higher as a bunch. Our tempo needs to be higher. That begins with me. I bought to be higher there. As a bunch we have proven that we are able to have some success this playoffs. This was a tough displaying for us tonight. So we’ll watch the movie, see the place we are able to get higher and be nice.”
The Pacers acknowledged the Knicks established themselves because the extra aggressive crew in Sport 5, however they’ve prided themselves on responding after losses this postseason. Ahead Aaron Nesmith didn’t mince phrases when requested how the Pacers will get their depth again for Sport 6.
“You get punched within the face like this,” he stated. “Generally you bought to lose to get higher. That is what occurred as we speak.”
Understanding they’re returning dwelling with a 3-2 sequence lead was a giant cause the Pacers weren’t discouraged regardless of Thursday’s loss. Indiana has not dropped back-to-back video games since March, and Siakam stated he was wanting ahead to an opportunity to bounce again at dwelling.
“You are going to have unhealthy video games,” Siakam stated. “That is the NBA, and there is going to be occasions the place a crew goes to play arduous. In actual fact, they are going to beat you.
“It’s simply all about us, man. It is all the time been us in opposition to the world, and I do not count on it to alter. … We’re 3-2 in a sequence and we’ve got a possibility to return dwelling and present what we’re manufactured from.”
