What do we say to the god of elimination, New York Knicks family? Not today.
Seriously, though: Has there ever been a more dangerous team in NBA history when the world has already counted them out? After falling flat on their faces in Game 4, Thursday night was a totally different story at Madison Square Garden.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the way in a 111-94 Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers, and this series is headed back to Indy.
Game 5: Final
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From the jump, New York’s focus couldn’t have looked any different—not just from Game 4, but from the entirety of this series. Brunson scored 14 in the first quarter to lead the way, and the rest of the team followed their captain.
The superstar point guard finished the night with 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Brunson (511) is just 37 points away from Patrick Ewing’s record (547) as the highest scoring Knick in the postseason, a record that’s sat untouched for 31 years.
Furthermore, the 32 points he scored gives the Knicks’ captain 10 games with 30 or more points on this playoff run.
Only three other Eastern Conference guards have ever accomplished that feat in NBA history: Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, and Dwyane Wade.
Elsewhere on New York’s star watch, Towns played his part of Robin to Brunson’s Batman to near perfection. The Knickerbockers big man recorded 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block in 36 minutes.
Towns hasn’t played the kind of game fans would prefer. His actions have been mostly downhill. But it’s for good reason, and Game 5 was a good reminder.
According to NBA.com’s Matchups tracking, Towns is 20-for-37 with Myles Turner as his primary defender in this series. He’s attacked Indiana’s starting big in a way not yet seen this season, given the five-out nature of New York’s offense.
Towns has also turned the ball over eight times and had his shot swatted four in those situations. But that comes with the volume. He isn’t going to win every matchup.
There’s rarely been a louder 20 minutes played in an NBA postseason game than Mitchell Robinson‘s night at the Mecca. He finished with 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and a steal.
Robinson’s ability to steer the defense impressed most of all. Widely known as an influencer above and under the rim, he created highlights aplenty from this one—in one-on-one situations no less.
Game 5 served testimony to the greatest playoff matchups in NBA history, i.e., your best players have to outplay the other team’s on any given night. For the first time in this series, Brunson and Towns outplayed the Pacers’ stars as a duo.
Tyrese Haliburton finished with just 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting in 32 minutes. Pascal Siakam scored 15 on 5-of-13, while his frontcourt mate Turner had only 5 points on 3 shot attempts. 94 total points is the lowest Indiana’s scored all postseason.
For those Knicks fans who were starting to miss the 2024 team and their gritty style on defense, the team’s performance in Game 5 should have scratched an itch. Robinson, Towns, and yeah, even Brunson competed on that end from start to finish. Can they do it again? How about twice?
Game 6 is set for Saturday, May 31, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 pm EST.
Never say never, New York Knicks fans. Stranger things have happened than this series going back to Madison Square Garden for a Game 7.
And from there, anything can happen. Go ahead, ask Reggie Miller.
