Jalen Brunson scored 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and the New York Knicks staved off elimination with a convincing 111-94 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals yesterday (Philippine time).
Karl-Anthony Towns played through a left knee injury to record 24 points and 13 rebounds as the third-seeded Knicks led wire to wire while cutting their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.
Bennedict Mathurin registered 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the fourth-seeded Pacers. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, and reserve Obi Toppin added 11.
Game 6 is on Sunday morning, June 1 (Philippine time), in Indianapolis.
Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton was largely silent, finishing with eight points, on 2-of-7 shooting, and six assists. Two nights earlier, he had 30 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and zero turnovers in a stellar Game 4 effort.
The Knicks shot 49.4 percent from the field in Game 5, including 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from three-point range.
Josh Hart had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Mikal Bridges also scored 12 points, and OG Anunoby had 11 points.
Indiana connected on 40.5 percent of its shots and was 10-of-30 from behind the arc while committing 19 turnovers.
The Knicks led by 11 at halftime but pushed the edge to 72-52 on two free throws by Anunoby with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter.
Indiana displayed life with a 12-2 run to move within 74-64 on two foul shots by Mathurin with 4:09 left in the period.
Brunson had six points, including a four-point play, as New York answered with 12 straight points. Miles “Deuce” McBride hit a jumper to cap it and make it 86-64 with 2:12 remaining.
The Pacers responded with a 9-2 burst before Bridges sank a 12-footer with 1.8 seconds left to give the Knicks a 90-73 advantage entering the final stanza.
New York led by 20 in the fourth before Indiana scored nine of the next 10 points to creep within 96-84 with 8:15 remaining. However, Hart answered with consecutive baskets and Bridges hit a jumper to make it an 18-point margin with 5:41 remaining.
Towns’ driving basket made it 106-90 with 2:44 left, and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle waved the white flag by removing Haliburton, Mathurin and Siakam from the contest.
Towns had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half as New York led 56-45 at the break. Siakam had nine in the half for the Pacers.
Indiana trailed by two early in the second quarter before New York rattled off 14 of the next 16 points to take a 48-34 lead with 5:07 left in the half.
The 14-point edge was the Knicks’ largest before intermission. (Field Level Media / Reuters)