Siakam beats the buzzer to deliver a Pacers W against Bulls
The Pacers have now won the first two games of their four-game homestand, with Cleveland and Denver visiting the Fieldhouse next.
The Pacers won their second consecutive game on Saturday, beating the Bulls, 103-101 thanks to the heroics of Pascal Siakam in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
Actually, THEE waning second of the game is when Siakam rose up from about 15 feet, shooting a middie over the Chicago defense that had no chance of NOT going in. Straight money. 0.1 seconds left on the clock. Ball game!
Fittingly, Tyrese Haliburton lead the charge off the bench to celebrate Siakam’s winner having delivered several such big shots last season. This time he had to watch and, like the other 17,000 fans at the Fieldhouse, was thrilled with the outcome.
Well, not all 17,000. The very solid holiday weekend crowd brought plenty of energy, but there were enough Bulls fans to make the idea of them leaving the Fieldhouse with and L, added to the sweet finish for the Pacers.
Siakam was relentless all night, even if he was overly efficient on offense. He did finish with 24 points and 9 rebounds on 23 shots, but was not going to stop pursuing the W until the final buzzer. Similar to the mindset Bennedict Mathurin brought, scoring 19 points with 6 rebounds and 2 steals on 19 shots. Both players were on the court more than 36 minutes.
Those minutes included over 9 minutes each for Siakam and Mathurin in the fourth quarter after the Pacers gave up the lead during a 15-2 run by the Bulls. But over the final five minutes, the Pacers were able to erase a 7-point deficit and eventually earn the win while grinding a 17-point quarter to close the game.
Jay Huff continued his improved play, now in a starting center role, while IJax flashed another productive effort off the bench. Huff scored the first 14 points of the game for the Pacers in the first quarter and then didn’t score, again. But he added 8 rebounds and 4 blocks to the party. Jackson continue his assertive effort to get buckets around the rim, making all 5 of his shot attempts in the game to finish with 14 points and 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
20 games in
The development of the center position is one of many reasons to withhold judgment about a team until the play enough games to adjust and grow in a season. I always like to look at rolling 20-game, 10-game and 5-game stretches to see how things may be improving or going the wrong way.
After 20 games the Pacers offense ranks 29th in the league, just a tick above the similarly decimated Dallas Mavericks. Defense is where the Pacers have to hunt for success and something Rick Carlisle has been emphasizing emphatically with his squad and coaches, as Alex Golden shared in this X post.
Through 20 games, the Pacers are 19th in the league in defensive efficiency, but those numbers are trending in the right direction, particularly in the past week. For the last 10 games, the Pacers defense remains at 19th in the league while the offense bumped up to 25th in the league.
Over the last 5 games, with improving health and Jay Huff and Isaiah Jackson unlocking solid center play in their new roles, the Pacers have the top (No. 1) defense in the league, almost 3 points per 100 possessions ahead of OKC in the No. 2 slot. The offense has dipped down to 27 in these low scoring slogs, but again that defense has to be the firm foundation of this group playing their best.
The small sample size makes for a hopeful stat that will be put to the test in the final two games of the homestand with Cleveland in town on Monday night and Jokic and the Nuggets on Wednesday. But now that the Pacers have played 20 games, the baseline is set to see where the Pacers go from here over the remainder of the season while also (hopefully!) enjoying better health.
Pacers vs. Cavaliers
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Monday, December 1, 2025 - 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +5.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard, Pascal Siakam, Jay Huff
Cavaliers: Darius Garland, Donavan Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, De’Andre Hunter, Evan Mobley
Injuries
Pacers: Aaron Nesmith (knee) - out, Quenton Jackson (hammy) - out, Johnny Furphy (ankle) - out, Obi Toppin (hammy) - out, Kam Jones (back) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Cavaliers: Lonzo Ball (knee) - questionable, Jarrett Allen (finger) - out, Max Strus (foot) - out, Sam Merrill (hand) - out, Larry Nance Jr. (calf) - out