Good news and bad news from dominant 111-94 Game 5 win over Pacers

Jalen Brunson put on a scoring clinic with a 32-point showing on 12-for-18 shooting from the floor and 4-for-7 from three. He started the game unleashed with a 14-point first quarter and then followed it up in the second half with 16 more in the third quarter.

Brunson was giving the Pacers trouble all night long, and his scoring prowess prevented Indiana from cutting into the deficit in any way. The Knicks needed a game like this from their captain to keep their season alive, and a 3-2 deficit doesn’t feel nearly as insurmountable as a 3-1 deficit.

The Knicks’ defense came to play in Game 5

New York’s defense has been troubling throughout the series, but they showed up in Game 5 and shut down Indiana’s top players. For starters, Indiana was held to under 100 points for the first time this postseason, as the Knicks tightened up their defense and didn’t allow the Pacers to shoot the lights out.

Furthermore, they shut down Tyrese Haliburton after a dominant Game 4 performance in which he had a 32-point triple-double. In Game 5, Haliburton scored just eight points and shot 2-for-7 from the field.

The Knicks played tremendous defense on Haliburton, and without him taking over, the Pacers couldn’t properly respond to New York’s offensive pressure. Bennedict Mathurin was their leading scorer with 23 points off the bench, but Pascal Siakam also struggled with just 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting.

If that defense shows up for the Knicks in Game 6, they will have a strong chance of forcing a Game 7 back home at Madison Square Garden.

Overview

The odds are still not in the Knicks’ favor, but their effort and energy level in Game 5 were certainly encouraging. They will look to keep their season alive once more in Game 6, which will be played at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana on Saturday.