New York Knicks extend Eastern Conference Finals against Indiana Pacers with statement Game 5 win

By Jacob Lev, CNN

(CNN) — “Knicks in 7” chants echoed around “The World’s Most Famous Arena” on Thursday night as the duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the New York Knicks to an Eastern Conference Finals-extending 111-94 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Despite being pushed to the brink of elimination, the Knicks came out the gates fast and stomped the Pacers to force a Game 6.

Brunson finished with 32 points, while Towns added 24 points and 13 rebounds.

The 29-year-old Towns came into Game 5 listed as a game-time decision with a knee contusion, but showed little signs of discomfort in the dominant win.

“I looked at the game and it said Game 5 do-or-die. That was pretty much all I needed to see,” Towns told reporters after the game. “Shout out to our medical staff. They gave me a chance to go out there and compete tonight.”

The Knicks suffered two brutal losses to open the series at Madison Square Garden but were able to shake them off, securing their first home win of the ECF so far.

With a who’s who of celebrities sitting courtside – including actors Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller, Kylie Jenner, and director Spike Lee – it was the captain Brunson that set the tone for the Knickerbockers.

The 28-year-old Brunson scored 14 first quarter points and set a franchise record with his 21st career postseason game of at least 30 points with New York.

That was not the only record broken: Brunson and Towns became the first teammates to both score 20+ points in each of the first five games of a conference finals since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal did so for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002.

“He was cooking. That’s what I saw. I saw him cooking,” Towns said of Brunson. “Especially when you’re getting points at that kind of rate, you got to get some stops. You want to be able to get some stops while cap is on that kind of burner.”

Besides the offensive feats for the Knicks, it was their defense especially keying in on stopping Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton.

In Indiana’s Game 4 win, the two-time All Star finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and zero turnovers. It was the first time in league playoff history that a player had registered at least 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds without a turnover.

However, Game 5 yielded a much different result for Haliburton, who finished with eight points and six assists.

“We’re up 3-1, their season is on the line today,” Haliburton said. “Understand they are going to come out and play hard. … Now, it is on us to respond in Game 6. When you get here, at this point, there is no such thing as surprises. You got to be prepared for whatever is to come.

“Kudos to them, they played better than us today. We’ve got to be prepared for Game 6.”

Brunson downplayed if he felt pressure to outplay Haliburton after his previous games’ heroics.

“He played phenomenal in Game 4. Our backs are against the wall,” Brunson said. “I wasn’t thinking, ‘I need to play better than him.’ I was just thinking, ‘I need to help my team win.’ And that’s my mindset every time I am on the court.”

The Pacers, looking to clinch their second-ever NBA Finals appearance, will have another go on Saturday night in front of their home fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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