Pacers Starting Five Had Worst Group Outing In Game 5, Must Improve

Forbes

2 days ago

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 29: Pascal Siakam #43 of the Indiana Pacers drives to the basket against ... More Josh Hart #3 of the New York Knicks during the third quarter in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 29, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by)
NEW YORK – With a possible berth in the NBA Finals on the table for the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night, they had an offensive performance that made even the team scratch their heads and wonder what exactly went wrong.
The Pacers entered Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead. After a terrific Game 4 in which three key players stepped up for the blue and gold, their confidence was high heading back to New York City. They entered the day 2-0 in Madison Square Garden during the series and could close out the Knicks with one more win in the World's Most Famous Arena. But by the end of the night, those sanguine feelings would be gone.
It was the Knicks' night. They were the much better team, and they became the first group in this playoffs to hold Indiana under 100 points in a game. The Pacers walked out of MSG after putting up just 94 points in the 48-minute battle, a bizarre performance given everything at stake.
The visitors shot just 40.5% from the field, their lowest figure in the postseason by nearly three percentage points. They had a playoff-high 20 turnovers, too. Indiana's total chances were limited – and they didn't convert the ones they got.
'We obviously didn't play with the level of force that we needed to. We lost the rebound battle, we lost the turnover battle,' Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle explained postgame before even fielding a question. 'We didn't shoot well, they had a lot to do with it, so give them credit.'
It was a dreadful performance all around. The Pacers trailed by double-digits from late in the second quarter onward. Any run that cut into the Knicks lead was immediately answered. Indiana is used to being the team that can respond to adversity at any moment in the postseason, but it was New York playing that way in Game 6.
Several strategic reasons influenced the Pacers' poor Game 5 – the Knicks were applying more ball pressure and face guarding star ball handler Tyrese Haliburton, for example. The improvements of the Knicks, combined with a substandard night from the Pacers, led to a blowout.
Most of the problems Indiana faced stemmed from the worst postseason outing for their starting five. That unit has played 241 minutes in the playoffs, and they've outscored opponents by 71 points. The five-man lineup consists of Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. They have just as many 2025 postseason outings with a plus-minus above +10 as they do with a figure below zero (six each).
There is always confidence in that five-man group when they are together. They entered Game 5 a plus-eight in the Eastern Conference Finals. Yet after three quarters of play in that fifth game, they had combined to score 29 points. Knicks star Jalen Brunson had 30 points by himself.
Some players were having an off night. One was injured. A few couldn't find their usual level of impact due to defensive changes from New York. For many reasons, the Pacers starting five was poor in Game 5, and their series lead dropped to 3-2 as a result.
'We weren't great as a group. I thought we lost the margin battle today,' Haliburton said over a half hour after walking off the court with a confident grin, even in defeat. 'We've got to be better as a group. I think our pace has to be better.'
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) passes the ball against the New York Knicks during the ... More second quarter of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference final, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
It all starts with Haliburton. In Game 4, he had the best night of his NBA career – posting a triple-double to put his team one win away from an NBA Finals berth. Two days later, he took seven shots and finished with just eight points and six assists.
Haliburton saw new coverages. Mikal Bridges was face guarding him all over the floor, making it hard for Haliburton to catch the ball on the move. Other offensive release valves had tough nights for the Pacers and couldn't punish that adjustment. It's not unusual for ramped-up pressure to slow the Pacers star, but it shouldn't have been as impactful as it ended up being.
'Rough night for me,' Haliburton stated. 'I've got to be better setting the tone, getting downhill. I feel like I didn't do a great job of that.'
Haliburton's personal effectiveness has dropped in the past when he sees this type of coverage. In this instance, it also limited the ability of his teammates. Their star point guard had fewer avenues to get into the paint and distribute, so easy shots were harder to come by.
Play finishers were hurting as a result. Nesmith, who started the series on fire and is dealing with an ankle injury suffered in Game 3, made just one of his eight field goal attempts. Turner only took three shots. Nembhard, who can be more than just a finisher but didn't find much space while being defended by OG Anunoby, went 3/8 from the field. Those three all struggled and combined to score 14 points on 19 shot attempts.
Nesmith gets more of a pass because of his injury. 'It's not 100%, but it's no excuse. I've got to be better,' he said of his sprained ankle. But he was still terrific in Game 4. Being off from the field in Game 5 and only playing for 15:52 challenged the usually-effective starting five. The Pacers will hope he's better in any future battles.
'It still comes down to the physicality from the jump, just playing with more effort and energy and worrying about us more than them,' Nesmith said matter-of-factly at his locker postgame.
Turner wasn't himself either. He took eight or more shots in the first four games of the series but only found room for three in Game 5. His shots usually come from strong ball movement and offensive flow, so that field goal attempt number being so low shows just how disconnected the starting five was Thursday night. Turner's impact has been muted in the last few games and needs to pop.
Siakam can get the Pacers going on some nights when their offense is subpar. That's how the blue and gold won Game 2 of this series. But even he had an off night, shooting just 5/13 and missing four attempts from the foul line. 'They were more aggressive from the jump. They brought the fight to us. I just didn't think we brought it enough,' Siakam said.
Altogether, it was the starting lineup's worst game this series. They played for under 10 minutes together for the first time this postseason – though Nesmith's injury was a factor in that. It was only the second time in these playoffs that they were outscored by 10+ points while sharing the floor.
The bench was good enough for Indiana in Game 5. The starters were not. They shot 33.3% and had 10 turnovers.
If the Pacers adjust like they have all season, they'll be fine. The team hasn't lost consecutive games since early March. But after the worst collective performance from their starting five in the postseason, the blue and gold need more from their best players to close out the Knicks.