Pascal Siakam's home debut spoiled by poor late game play from Pacers against Nuggets

Siakam debuted in Indy on Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers were beating the Denver Nuggets with 3:15 left in their game on Tuesday night. With two minutes to go, the score was tied. Despite former MVP Nikola Jokic having an excellent night and Jamal Murray going off for 31 points, the Pacers were hanging around and in the lead late.

But for the second straight game, the blue and gold couldn't get it done in the clutch. They missed multiple open threes in the final two minutes and didn't defend well enough to topple the defending champs. Despite playing well in the fourth quarter and erasing a 13-point lead, Indiana couldn't get it done.

"We came up short," Pacers guard Ben Sheppard said after the game. He was happy with some of the key hustle plays he made in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers weren't able to win.

It was another game that the Pacers had to be proud of outside of the final moments. They battled with a title contender for 45 minutes in large part thanks to their defense. Indiana made life tough on non-Jokic and Murray players, and they punished the Nuggets defensive mistakes.

T.J. McConnell pushed into the paint and set up shots for himself and others. Andrew Nembhard did the same, and he also defended well all night. Myles Turner climbed over 20 points and was mobile on defense while Obi Toppin and Ben Sheppard were productive off the bench.

Together, all of that was enough for the blue and gold to keep up with the 2023 champs. Their defense kept Denver below 30 points in three different quarters. That was all necessary for the blue and gold to have a chance late.

With the game hanging in the balance, they weren't good enough. The Pacers missed five wide open threes in the final two minutes — three of them were created by newcomer Pascal Siakam. Denver scored one too many times. In the end, despite a largely solid outing, Indiana lost their third-straight game.

"They made more plays and more shots," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "We had some great looks that didn't go down tonight, but there are some things that we have to do much better heading into the game on Thursday."

That ending ruined what could have been an incredible introduction to Indianapolis fans for Siakam. The All-Star forward was traded to the Pacers last week, and he played his first game in front of Indiana fans on Tuesday night. A win, and a good performance from Siakam, would have been invigorating for the fanbase.

Siakam did pretty well, though his performance wasn't earth shattering. He scored 16 points and brought in 10 boards for his first double-double as a Pacer, but it took him 16 shots to do it. He added four assists and only turned the ball over once.

His defense was impressive, and his presence alone on the less glamorous end of the floor helps his teammates slot into place. He was part of the reason that Aaron Gordon was far less effective than he was the first time Indiana took on Denver this season.

Siakam's statline could have been better. He didn't get to the foul line as much as he tried to — an uncalled foul on a layup attempt happened just before Carlisle was ejected for getting into it with the officials in the third quarter. Siakam could have been more efficient had his drives ended in free throw attempts.

His teammates didn't make the open shots he set up late in the game, so his assist total could have been higher — the NBA's tracking data says that Siakam had 10 potential assists.

While Siakam's stats don't jump off the screen, his impact was solid. The team just didn't have enough consistent play, and they came up just short.

"Solid effort by everyone. I thought the third quarter, [the] game kinda got away a little bit," Siakam said after the game. "We want to give everything that we have to get wins."

Siakam thinks the Pacers environment, which is about pursuing victories right now, suits him well. That's something he wants at this stage of his career. His own level of play will be critical in Indiana winning going forward.

"I'm going to have to continue to learn," Siakam said. "I'm going to get better and find ways to help the team."

Through three games, the two-time All-NBA forward is averaging 17.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Pacers. He's near five assists per game, too, with a true shooting percentage of 53.7%.

"Siakam's a good player. He's going to be very consistent. He's going to bring something very valuable to almost every element of our game," Carlisle said.

Indianapolis fans got to see that on Tuesday night. While the Pacers came up short, their new star forward showed parts of what the future could look like.

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