Playoff wins on the road hit different.

Pascal Siakam and the Pacers now have six of them in a row.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

May 24, 2025

Pacers Up 2-0: Siakam shines as Indy takes first two games at Madison Square Garden

Road Warriors: The Pacers extend their road win streak to six in a row this Playoffs

Pack Back Home: Can the Wolves bounce back after dropping two games in OKC?

Defense Travels: Will OKC’s defensive dominance carry over on the road in Game 3?

All-NBA Teams: One key stat for each of the 15 players that showed out this season

BUT FIRST … ⏰

West Finals return to Minneapolis…

The West Finals resume tonight (8:30 ET, ABC) as the Wolves host the Thunder in a pivotal Game 3. OKC is seeking a commanding 3-0 lead, while Minnesota looks to feed off its home crowd to pull within a game.

1. SIAKAM POWERS PACERS TO 2-0 LEAD IN EAST FINALS

Elsa/Getty Images

In Game 1, Aaron Nesmith’s 3-point barrage and more Tyrese Haliburton clutch magic lifted Indiana to a 1-0 lead on the road.

In Game 2, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner were the difference-makers as Indiana pulled away from New York late to secure a 2-0 series lead in the East Finals.

Pacers 114, Knicks 109: After the first three quarters saw 17 lead changes and 15 ties, the game was knotted at 81 entering the 4th. Indiana opened the final frame on a 13-4 run and never trailed as Siakam (7) and Turner (13) combined for 20 points in the 4th to lift Indy to the win. | Recap

With Friday’s game being the 50th Playoff meeting of this rivalry, it seems fitting that it came down to the wire for the second straight game.

• Tyrese Time: Haliburton (14 pts, 11 ast, 1 tov) struggled to score for most of the game (5-of-16 FG), but hit a huge 3 with 3:49 to play as the Pacers continued to fend off the Knicks in the 4th
• Final Push: Down 10 with 2:45 left, the Knicks tried to pull off a rally similar to the Pacers in Game 1. NY scored nine straight to make it a one-point game with 15 seconds left, but a pair of Nesmith free throws for Indy and a Brunson missed 3 sealed the game
• Perfection: The Pacers improved to 7-0 in clutch games during this Playoff run
• Brunson 🔝 Ewing: Brunson (36 pts, 11 ast, 5 3pm) posted his 19th 30+ point Playoff game as a Knick, passing Patrick Ewing for the most in franchise history. Jalen has eight 30+ point games in these Playoffs, trailing only OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9)

The Pacers finished with six players with 10+ points and five with 2+ assists as they posted their seventh straight game with at least 100 points and 25 dimes.

• Rare Streak: Indy’s run is only the 13th such streak in Playoff history and the 3rd in the last 37 years
• The last three teams to do it – the Warriors in 2022 and 2019 (both 9 game streaks) and the Celtics in 1987 (12 straight games) – all reached the Finals that season

What’s Next: The Pacers lead 2-0 as the series shifts to Indiana for the next two games, with Game 3 set for Sunday (8 ET, TNT).

2. SETTING THE PACE WITH ROAD WINS

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

For the second straight series, the Pacers will take a 2-0 series lead back home to Indianapolis.

• In the East Semis, the Pacers went into Cleveland and beat the Cavs twice on their home floor, capped by one of their signature comeback wins – scoring eight straight over the final 47.9 seconds with Haliburton burying the game-winning 3 with 1.1 ticks left
• In the East Finals, the Pacers have gone into The Garden and beat their longtime Playoff rival twice on their home floor. This time, Indy made a historic comeback in Game 1, overcoming a 15-point deficit in the final five minutes to win in overtime
• History On Their Side: Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series on the road have gone on to win the series 86.5% of the time (32-5). That includes Indy over Cleveland and New York over Boston from this year’s second round

The Pacers have won six straight on the road and are 6-1 away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse this postseason.

• Party Of Eight: The Pacers join the 2024 Celtics, 2017 Cavs, 2017 Warriors, 2001 Lakers, 1999 Spurs, 1995 Rockets and 1991 Bulls as the only teams to win at least six straight road games in a single postseason (excluding 2020)
• What do they have in common? The previous seven teams to win six straight road games all reached the Finals that season, with six winning the title. The one team that didn’t? The Cavs lost to the Warriors in the 2017 Finals – when both teams had such a streak
• Siakam After Game 2: “We know that nobody is picking us to win these games … The coaching staff is doing a great job preparing us for these moments and we just play ball. At the end of the day that’s all it is – home, away – we just want to play.”

David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

During their six-game road win streak, the Pacers have averaged 122.7 points and 28.7 assists, while shooting at least 50% in every game and 40% from 3 in all but one contest.

• Clutch Time: Indy’s last five road wins were all decided by single digits and have all featured clutch time. The Pacers are 7-0 in clutch games this Playoffs – with five of them coming on the road against the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the East

While Indy has proven it can win away from home, the Pacers have dominated in Indianapolis, too — now, they look to improve on their 4-1 home record in Games 3 & 4.

• “Happy to be going back to Indy…We’re excited to play in front of our fans.” – TJ McConnell as he and the Pacers walked off the MSG court on Friday night

3. CAN WOLVES BOUNCE BACK AT HOME?

Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images

Down 2-0, Minnesota is at risk of facing a deficit no team has ever climbed out of. With another loss, it would trail 3-0 in the series — a margin 159 predecessors have faced, with all 159 unable to overcome.

That reality only simplifies their approach.

• “We’ve got to be desperate,” said Jaden McDaniels. “Every possession matters. Every game, everything matters.”

The Timberwolves welcome the Thunder to Target Center tonight for Game 3 of the West Finals (8:30 ET, ABC). Now, the series swings to their neck of the woods, which has proven a promising place to be.

During the regular season, coach Chris Finch’s crew made a habit of stepping up on their own hardwood. That’s only continued to be the case since their title chase began.

• Double Trouble: Minnesota entered the Playoffs with a net rating of 3.0 in away games, compared to 6.9 when competing at Target Center. In the Playoffs, that home net rating has increased to 8.9
• Home Cooking: This postseason, the squad’s offensive rating is 117.0 at home compared to 108.3 on the road, while their true-shooting percentage increases to 58.3% from 54.5%

David Berding/Getty Images

“Every minute in a series is a chance to find something,” Finch said. “We’re going to go home and fight for Game 3.”

• Ant All Alone: Anthony Edwards found history on Thursday. He passed Kevin Garnett to become the franchise’s all-time leading Playoff scorer with 1,065 points to his name
• Fueling The Fire: The 5th-year guard – responsible for 32 points and nine rebounds in Game 2 – averages 29 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 5.8 apg when trailing in a series

Oklahoma City and its Playoff league-best 101.2 defensive rating has cut off the paint, pressuring Minnesota to rely on outside shooting. It’s shown before that it can pass such a test.

• Saga of Swish: Edwards was a career-best 39.5% from 3-point land in the regular season, but is 4-for-17 from deep this series. He was 11-for-20 in the team’s two previous outings entering this series
• Rain In The Forecast? The Timberwolves shot 29.4% from 3 in Game 1 and 28.2% in Game 2, but notably, have yet to sink less than 35% in three straight games during this Playoff run

“They did what they came out to do, took care of home court,” said Mike Conley. “Now we have to do the same.”

4. CAN THUNDER SUSTAIN DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE ON ROAD?

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Through the first two games of the West Finals, the Thunder have held the Timberwolves to a total of 191 points – 88 in Game 1 and 103 in Game 2 – matching the lowest-scoring two-game stretch from Minnesota all season long.

The Thunder have been a defensive juggernaut all season long, with a 106.6 defensive rating in the regular season that was the best of any team the past three seasons.

• They’ve been better in the Playoffs, with a rating of 101.2 through 13 games
• They’ve been even better through the first two games of the West Finals, posting a rating of 99.0 as their swarming defense wreaked havoc on the Wolves
• OKC Coach Mark Daigneault: “It’s really about what level of discomfort we’re able to put on the opponent…
• “If that’s inefficient shots, or long possessions, or making them work for everything, or a turnover – we don’t really worry about what the outcome of those possessions are. We’re just trying to make sure we control what we can control.”

24 players from 15 teams received votes for the Kia NBA All-Defensive Teams – which were announced on Thursday.

• No team had more players earn votes than OKC with four – including First Teamer Lu Dort and Second Teamer Jalen Williams, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace
• That doesn’t include Chet Holmgren (league-best 44.0% allowed at the rim, min. 200 shots defended) and Alex Caruso (two-time All-Defensive Team selection) as both did not reach 65 games played

With a roster full of elite defenders, Daigneault can use various lineups to give opponents different looks throughout a game (and series), sending waves of fresh defenders to sustain their defensive storm.

• Starting 5: OKC’s opening group has shared the court for 152 minutes this postseason, with a 105.9 defensive rating
• Defensive Depth: OKC has used 12 different 5-man lineups for at least 13 minutes in the Playoffs, with half posting a defensive rating under 100
• NBA Best: Of the 96 5-man lineups that have played 13+ minutes in the Playoffs, OKC has the top two defensive lineups: Hartenstein, SGA, Dort, J-Dub and Wallace (63.3 DefRtg in 13 min) and Caruso, SGA, Wiggins, Holmgren and Wallace (65.5 DefRtg in 14 min)

Another key to OKC’s elite defense is its efficiency on offense. OKC ranks 2nd in field goals made (42.7) and 1st in fewest turnovers (11.0) in the Playoffs. This allows the Thunder to set their defense rather than scrambling back in transition.

• MVP Streak: Leading that offense is SGA, who has posted five straight 30+ point games – matching the longest Playoff streak in franchise history that he set a season ago

5. BEST OF THE BEST: ALL-NBA TEAMS ANNOUNCED

The Kia All-NBA Teams were announced on Friday, honoring the top 15 players in the NBA for the 2024-25 season.

The story of the season can’t be told without these players. To celebrate them, we look at one key stat for each player that made them stand out from the rest of the league.

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks, 9th All-NBA selection): Posted his second straight season averaging 30+ points while shooting over 60% – he’s the only player to ever accomplish such a season
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder, 3rd): The Kia NBA MVP won his first scoring title (32.7 ppg) and joined Michael Jordan as the only players to average 32 ppg and 6 apg while shooting over 50%
• Nikola Jokić (Nuggets, 7th): Became the first player in NBA history to rank top 3 in points (29.6), rebounds (12.7) and assists (10.2) in a season, and the third to average a triple-double for a season
• Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers, 2nd): The lowest usage rate (29.8%) since his rookie season led to the highest net rating (10.5, 4th in NBA, min. 30 mpg) of his career, pushing Cleveland to its second most wins in a season (64)
• Jayson Tatum (Celtics, 5th): Ranked top 10 in net rating (9.8, min. 30 mpg), leading the Celtics in total points (1,932), rebounds (623) and assists (431) as they posted back-to-back 60+ win seasons for the first time in 16 years

• Jalen Brunson (Knicks, 2nd All-NBA selection): The Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year finished second in points (156) and third in assists (28) in clutch time
• Stephen Curry (Warriors, 11th): Became the first player to reach 4,000 career 3s, while totaling 300+ 3s made for the sixth time in his career; all other players in history have four such seasons combined
• Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves, 2nd): Increased his scoring average for the 5th straight time to open his career, while leading the NBA in 3-pointers made (320)
• LeBron James (Lakers, 21st): Became the first player to reach 40,000 career points and extended his record for most All-NBA selections to 21 – a run that began in 2004-05
• Evan Mobley (Cavaliers, 1st): The Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year was the only player to post 1,200+ points, 600+ rebounds and 100+ blocks this season

• Cade Cunningham (Pistons, 1st All-NBA selection): Became the first player under 23 years old since Oscar Robertson to average 25 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists
• Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers, 2nd): Ranked 3rd in the league in assists (9.2 apg) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.61)
• James Harden (Clippers, 8th): His four 40+ point games were his most since 2019-20 – when he last made All-NBA. He climbed from 22nd to 11th on the all-time scoring list this season
• Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks, 3rd): In his first season in New York, posted the most 20-pt, 10-reb games (43) by a Knick since Patrick Ewing in 1992-93
• Jalen Williams (Thunder, 1st): Became the 18th player in NBA history to be a 1st time All-Star, 1st time All-Defense and 1st time All-NBA in the same season