The Indiana Pacers were on pace to lose Game 2 against the Knicks tonight. Now, Tyrese Haliburton was able to get them back on track by riling them up with a pep talk. But who held down the fort in the meantime? Well, that would be the man, Rick Carlisle thinks, did “everything” tonight — Pascal Siakam!

With 39 points off 15-23 shooting, Pascal wasn’t just the most prolific player on the court today, he was also the most lethal. And because of his insane haul, none of his teammates even needed to cross the 20-point mark. Moreover, Jalen Brunson grabbing 36 points for himself also proved meaningless in the face of Pascal’s greatness. And after the game. Rick Carlisle explained why Siakam deserves all the credit in the world for tonight’s showing.

“You know, in the first half, he was the guy that got us going and got us through some difficult stretches. Thought he really picked his spots to be aggressive. He ran great, he did everything — he attacked the rim, he was great in mid-range, and the three-point shot was there. And so, it’s hard to score that number of points in a game like this, where you always have a physical matchup defensively. And there’s a guy crashing and flying at the basket. But he did a phenomenal job. And it’s a quiet 39 points. It really, it really was,” said Carlisle to the media.

Unlike him, Pascal’s teammates got off to a rough start. In the first quarter, the Pacers made 9 buckets. 6 of those came from Siakam. That’s how poorly Indiana started the game tonight. But their talisman in this postseason, Tyrese Haliburton, stepped up to set the Pacers on the straight and narrow. Here’s what Hali says he told the team to get them back in the game: “So everybody, let’s join the party. You know, P, appreciate it. Let’s keep it going. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

But turns out it wasn’t just his speech that kept the Pacers afloat in tonight’s game. Being only 3 points down to the Knicks at halftime thanks to Pascal also played a huge role. “But, you know, when you have played such a terrible half like that, and you’re only down three, I think that gives you a lot of confidence. And I thought we did a great job coming down the third quarter. We started the fourth quarter well,” said Tyrese.

And with this win, the Pacers have gone 2-0 up in the Eastern Conference Finals. And Siakam has turned into a sensation overnight, scoring nearly 40 in a game where his supporting cast simply did not show until the second half. But not letting this get to him was how the 31-year-old managed to pull off what he did tonight.

Pascal Siakam talks about his incredible performance tonight and what makes the Pacers “special”

Pascal Siakam wasn’t at his best in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He only had 17 points in that game. But the Pacers veteran completely flipped the script tonight, finding his mark repeatedly from the get-go. And after the game, he discussed his insane performance against the Knicks and how his teammates having offnights didn’t really affect him.

“I just came out aggressive at the end of the day, we’re a team , it doesn’t matter who scores. That’s what I love so much about this team,” said Siakam. He continued, “I got to go in early, the guys did a good job finding me. And again, another night it’s going to be somebody else, you know, that’s what makes us special.”

Even if you can’t say that about the rest of the team tonight, Pascal was definitely special tonight. And now, the Pacers have a real shot at making the NBA Finals. They need another 2 victories before they can kick back a little. But if players like Siakam keep stepping up like this? Well, Indiana might be seeing the first Larry O’Brien trophy in it’s history!