The Knicks led from start to finish and by as many as 22 points, fighting off elimination in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 111-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
Here are the takeaways...
-- Jalen Brunson set the tone early in the first quarter, making two quick buckets and finding Mitchell Robinson for an alley-oop jam. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee contusion), who was listed as questionable, missed his first couple of shots but hit a three-pointer and scored inside to ignite the Knicks. Brunson then made back-to-back three-pointers, giving him 12 points already, as the Knicks took a 23-12 lead with 4:23 left in the first quarter.
Indiana closed the quarter on a 10-2 run as New York held onto a 27-23 lead. Brunson had 14 points on an efficient 6-for-9 shooting, while Tyrese Haliburton had just two points (0-for-2 shooting) and the Pacers shot 36.8 percent (7-for-19) as a team. The Knicks won the turnover battle (one to the Pacers' three), but were outrebounded 12-10.
-- With Brunson on the bench, Towns opened the second quarter aggressively with a floater followed by an and-one layup. Despite hobbling, Towns grabbed the team's first offensive rebound, scored again, and then found an open Miles McBride for three on the next possession to go up 37-32. Towns and the Knicks grew the lead to 50-36 with contributions from Landry Shamet and Josh Hart. But the Pacers didn't fold, as Jarace Walker and Benedict Mathurin both hit three-pointers to cut the deficit to single-digits before the half.
New York outscored Indiana by seven points in the second quarter, taking a 56-45 lead into halftime. Towns had 17 points and 10 rebounds at the break (+17 in 19 minutes), while Brunson was held scoreless in the second quarter. Haliburton didn't make a basket, scoring just four points on foul shots. New York took a commanding 25-18 lead in the rebound column, but turned it over six times in the second quarter.
-- Brunson came out of the locker room firing with the team's first eight points of the third quarter and Robinson secured an offensive rebound plus the putback to go up 16 points. Towns and OG Anunoby extended the lead to 72-52, their biggest lead of the series. However, turnovers continued to be a problem for NY and then Towns picked up his fourth foul with 6:24 left in the third quarter, forcing him to the bench.
-- Down 74-62 with about four minutes remaining in the third, Rick Carlisle opted for the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy on Robinson, who missed both free throws. Tom Thibodeau didn't let Indiana keep that up, subbing in Precious Achiuwa for Robinson with Towns in foul trouble. Looking to stop the Pacers' mini-run, Brunson drilled a pull-up three-pointer, plus the foul on former Knick Obi Toppin, to give him 16 points in the third quarter alone and 30 total for the game. Achiuwa's layup and McBride's jumper capped off a 12-0 NY run and pushed the lead to 86-64.
Mikal Bridges nailed a mid-range jump shot with 1.1 seconds left in the third to give the Knicks a 90-73 lead heading into the fourth quarter. New York won the third quarter, 34-28. Halliburton's quiet night continued with just one basket in the third quarter.
-- T.J. McConnell, Pascal Siakam and Walker tried to step up with Halliburton on the bench, helping the Pacers go on a 9-0 run early in the final frame and cut into the Knicks' lead. Brunson and Towns had enough left in the tank to keep it going, as the duo both scored to go up 106-90 and become the first pair of teammates since the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2002 to each have 20+ points in the first five games of a conference finals.
The benches emptied for the final minute and a half, as New York held on for the 111-94 win and forced a Game 6. The Knicks held the Pacers to under 100 points, which is the first time Indiana has been held under the century mark in these playoffs.
-- Towns finished a game-high +26 with 24 points on 50 percent shooting, 13 rebounds, and three assists. Bridges had 12 points, Anunoby had 11, and Josh Hart had 12 points off the bench. Halliburton was held to eight points on 2-for-7 shooting. The Knicks won the rebound (45-40) and turnover battles (15 to the Pacers' 19). Indiana shot just 40.5 percent from the field, while New York went 49.4 percent shooting.
Game MVP: Jalen Brunson
The star guard stepped up in the must-win contest, doing all he could to keep the Knicks' season alive. He finished with 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting with five rebounds and five assists.