In a pivotal game 5 for the New York Knicks, they definitely came out hungry and ultimately beat the Indiana Pacers 111-94.
The first quarter came at the Pacers like a whirlwind. Jalen Brunson, determined for this not to be his last game of the season, came out dropping 14 in the first quarter. The Pacers had three early turnovers and some cold shooting to start the game found them trailing by four at the end of the first.
Karl-Anthony Towns showed that his knee was not a problem, taking on an early double team to finish at the rim twice to start the quarter. Obi Toppin would respond for the Pacers, attacking the rim aggressively to score two buckets at the rim for the Pacers to bring them back within three. With Brunson getting an early rest, Josh Hart would come in and provide a calming hand to his team while facilitating the offense.
Midway through the second quarter, the Knicks found themselves leading by eight. Both teams would fall into a bit of a shooting slump, but would continue to attack the rim with the hopes of getting to the free-throw line. In an interesting split, the Pacers had 17 points from their starters and 17 points from their bench. Brunson would return after the Knicks went plus-seven while he was on the bench getting a much-needed rest.
The third quarter started with the Knicks leading by 11, and the Pacers desperately needing to get Tyrese Haliburton going, who had only four points in the first half. Brunson would pick up right where he left off in the first half while scoring seven of the Knicks' first points in the quarter. With the Pacers' inability to rebound the basketball, they found themselves down by 16 points early.
Turnovers virtually took Indiana out of the game, as the lead ballooned to 20 points at the halfway point of the third. Towns would pick up his fourth personal foul, which would cause him to go to the bench. Toppin would come in again and provide a lift off the bench, cutting the lead to 13. However, sloppy ball-handling and shooting helped the Knicks increase the lead back up to 20 points.
Down by 17 points to start the fourth, the Pacers definitely needed to make some adjustments if they hoped to climb back into this game. Pascal Siakam would force a turnover from Hart, finding Bennedict Mathurin for the transition bucket. Haliburton only had seven field goal attempts at the end of regulation. Ultimately, their efforts proved not to be enough. The series now shifts back to Indiana for a pivotal Game 6.
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