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Jamal Collier
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 must 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 tremendous. There is no must panic or something.”
The Pacers nonetheless lead the sequence 3-2, with Recreation 6 on Saturday evening in Indianapolis.
Indiana by no means led in Recreation 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 acquired began. Their beginning 5 mixed for simply 37 factors, the second fewest for a staff 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 begin the sport, we simply did not have the correct degree of drive, the correct degree of perspective crucial on this atmosphere,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle stated. “It was a nasty begin; we by no means had a lead within the recreation. There have been a large number of issues that had been going flawed. There have been stretches within the recreation the place we acquired somewhat 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 Recreation 4, Haliburton struggled to remain concerned on offense Thursday evening, scoring eight factors on 2-of-7 taking pictures with six assists. His seven shot makes an attempt had 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 staff’s factors.
“I acquired to be higher, and I will be higher in Recreation 6,” Haliburton stated. “We acquired to be higher as a bunch. Our tempo must be higher. That begins with me. I acquired to be higher there. As a bunch we have proven that we will have some success this playoffs. This was a tough displaying for us tonight. So we’ll watch the movie, see the place we will get higher and be nice.”
The Pacers acknowledged the Knicks established themselves because the extra aggressive staff in Recreation 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 Recreation 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.”
Realizing they’re returning house with a 3-2 sequence lead was an enormous 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 trying ahead to an opportunity to bounce again at house.
“You are going to have unhealthy video games,” Siakam stated. “That is the NBA, and there is going to be occasions the place a staff goes to play onerous. In truth, they’ll beat you.
“It’s simply all about us, man. It is all the time been us towards the world, and I do not count on it to vary. … We’re 3-2 in a sequence and we’ve got a possibility to return house and present what we’re fabricated from.”