Blazers spoil Pascal Siakam's debut with Pacers

The Pascal Siakam trade was a win for the Indiana Pacers, but his tenure will start with a loss.

The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Pacers 118-115 to spoil Siakam's debut after his blockbuster trade to Indiana, which saw the Pacers send Bruce Brown, three first-round picks and more to the Toronto Raptors and more.

Siakam finished with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting, six rebounds and three assists only two days after being traded.

The Blazers didn't trail at all in the final three quarters of the game, riding a 37-point from their own power forward, Jerami Grant, to their 12th win of the season. Malcolm Brogdon also had 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting.

The game was a bit more exciting than Portland fans were likely hoping for, as a double-digit fourth-quarter lead dwindled to three points with 17 seconds remaining.

Obviously, a single loss doesn't spoil the trade for the Pacers, who made the deal to provide a versatile offensive threat to work off burgeoning superstar Tyrese Haliburton. The two hit the ground running together, with Haliburton notching five out of his 17 assists on the night via Siakam. The two are a natural pick-and-roll duo and that still showed Friday.

Siakam and the Pacers will face the Suns next on Sunday, then he'll be set to make his home debut against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.