Pascal Siakam entered the playoffs wanting to be the Indiana Pacers leader. He left Milwaukee on top of the league.

Siakam has been everything for the Pacers

MILWAUKEE — Any time a player's name can be tossed into a sentence with Shaquille O'Neal or Wilt Chamberlain, they are doing something right. After two dazzling playoff games in Milwaukee in which he guided the Indiana Pacers to a road win, Pascal Siakam put his name in the record books with those all-time greats.

In Game 1, Siakam had 36 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists against the Bucks. Milwaukee won, but the former All-Star forward was terrific, and he shot 15/25 from the field. The Pacers were embarrassed, but it had nothing to do with Siakam and his brilliant play.

Two days later, he was even better. In Game 2, with Indiana down in the series and needing to respond, he was nearly perfect. Siakam finished that outing with 37 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. The Pacers outscored the Bucks by six in his minutes and notched a vital victory.

"He just doesn't get rattled," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Siakam after the second game. "He's a unique player. His experience shows, and he had a lot of big plays for us tonight."

After two games, Siakam is averaging 36.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. He's shooting 64.6% from the field and has dropped in half of his long-range shots. Outside of some blemishes at the foul line, SIakam has been excellent, and his defense has been at a high level.

The stats Siakam is putting up have rarely happened before. In Indiana's franchise history, he is just the second player to score 35+ points in consecutive games, according to Wheat Hotchkiss of the Pacers. The first player was, of course, Reggie Miller.

According to Stats Perform, Siakam is the first NBA player to open the playoffs with back-to-back 35-point, 10-rebound games since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967. Matt Williams of ESPN shared that Siakam is the first player with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 60% shooting in each of first two games of a playoff series since Shaquille O'Neal in the 2000 NBA Finals. Fittingly, Shaq did that against the Pacers.

Leading up to the series, Siakam expressed his desire to be an example for a young Indiana team. He wanted to show them what the playoffs are all about. The veteran and former NBA Champion is the stabilizer for the blue and gold, and his play on the hardwood is showing it.

"Pascal, since he's come on board, really is a leader by example," Carlisle said last week.

In the two games, Siakam continued to do that. When the team was at a low point, he kept attacking and never gave up. His play took the low emotions out of defeat, and his success gave the Pacers confidence. When Indiana was riding a high, they fed off of Siakam's dominance. He was crushing Milwaukee, and the blue and gold fell in line.

The Bucks never found an answer for him. Siakam slashed into the lane when the hosts overloaded Tyrese Haliburton and tried to make his life difficult. When Milwaukee put a smaller player on Siakam, he meandered into the post and punished the matchup. Late in the shot clock, he's been great against everyone. Indiana has used him in many ways, and he's thrived in all of them.

"Just taking what's out there," Siakam said. He thinks he's playing well within the flow of the offense. "I don't feel like I'm trying anything or forcing anything... Just not thinking about it and taking whatever is there."

Andrew Nembhard has been impressed by Siakam's comfort level and confidence. He can see it, and the young Pacers guard fed off of it. "He's someone who has a lot of experience playing for championship teams. You just see that so clearly," Nembhard said. He believes it rubbed off on the rest of the roster.

Through two playoff outings, Siakam's 36.5 points per game leads the NBA. His rebounding average ranks eighth, and six of the seven players ahead of him are centers. He's 26th in assists and only has one turnover across two games. It's remarkable what Siakam has been able to do, and the Pacers wouldn't have left Milwaukee with a victory without him.

"He's playing unbelievable," Haliburton said. The star guard explained how the Bucks are cross matching at times in the frontcourt, and Siakam has crushed that coverage. "He's just doing a good job of taking what the defense gives him."

Siakam isn't particularly talkative. He calls himself a simple guy. But he works hard every day and leads by example, and he thinks that he's been challenged with this younger team to be a more active leader. He's seen his teammates respond positively to that. "It's another part of my growth as a player," he said.

He's paired that off-court role with on-court brilliance. It's hard to imagine where the Pacers would be without the former All-NBA forward in this series, but they don't have to imagine that. That's why they traded three first-round draft picks and two players for Siakam in January. He ups their ceiling and gives them a second star. "He's leading by example," Myles Turner said. "He's been a hell of an addition for us."

The series now turns to Indianapolis, and the Pacers have home court advantage. If they take care of business in Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the best-of-seven set, they'll move on to the second round. That's far easier said than done, but Indiana has given themselves a chance to be more than a team that is happy to simply be in the playoffs for the first time in years.

Pascal Siakam is making that a possible reality with his terrific play. "It's going to be a game of runs. It's going to be a tough series. We've got to keep fighting," he said Tuesday night. Nobody has fought like he has so far.

• 'Embarrassing': Indiana Pacers have dreadful opening to playoffs in Game 1 loss to Milwaukee Bucks . CLICK HERE.
• Pascal Siakam is the key to the Indiana Pacers playoff success both on and off the court. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark meets Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, gets praise from Rick Carlisle. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers use dominant Pascal Siakam outing to win Game 2 over Milwaukee Bucks, even up the series at 1-1. CLICK HERE.
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