NEW YORK, NY — Fueled by a hot start from Jalen Brunson and roars of “Knicks in 7!” echoing through Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks kept their season alive Thursday night with a commanding 111-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
With their backs against the wall, the Knicks delivered their first home win of the series and staved off elimination. Brunson led the charge with 32 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns, playing through a bruised left knee, chipped in 24 points and 13 rebounds in a gritty performance.
“It’s a testament to our team answering the call,” Towns said after the win.
Now trailing 3-2, the Knicks head to Indiana for a must-win Game 6 on Saturday, still in pursuit of becoming just the 14th team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit. No team has ever come back from losing the first two games of a conference finals at home — a history New York is hoping to rewrite.
The Knicks flipped the script defensively after a Game 4 meltdown, where they surrendered 43 points in the first quarter. This time, they clamped down early, holding Indiana to just 45 points in the first half and limiting All-Star Tyrese Haliburton to just eight points and six assists — a sharp contrast to his near triple-double two nights earlier (32 pts, 15 ast, 12 reb).
Brunson bounced back in a big way after being outshined by Haliburton in Game 4. His 32-point effort marked his 21st postseason game with 30+ points — the most in franchise history.
“We had no choice. We had to respond,” Brunson said.
Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin provided a spark off the bench with 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a rough offensive night. The Pacers, who had won six straight on the road, shot just 40.5% from the field — their lowest scoring output of the playoffs.
“We didn’t bring the necessary force,” admitted Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle. “We lost the battles on the boards and in turnovers. We’ll need to be much better.”
Brunson came out firing, scoring 14 in the opening quarter to give New York a 27-23 edge — a stark contrast to the 43-point quarter explosion Indiana had in Game 4. Towns then carried the load in the second with 12 points while Brunson sat scoreless, and the Knicks took control.
Brunson opened the third with New York’s first eight points, helping the Knicks push their lead to 20 midway through the period. Indiana made a brief run to cut the deficit in half, but a 12-0 New York surge — punctuated by a Brunson four-point play — blew the game back open at 86-64.
