Five takeaways from Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals

Brunson only took 18 shots, but it felt like more since he sank 12 of them, including four three-pointers. He was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line, grabbed five rebounds to go with five assists and finished with an highly-efficient 32 points on 18 shots — and even blocked a shot.

It wasn't just points, but Brunson's penchant for timely points. When the Pacers cut the Knicks' lead to 10 points in the third quarter, Brunson scored six points in a minute with a four-point play, keying a 12-0 Knicks run.

It was a performance that reminded viewers that Haliburton wasn't the only All-NBA guard in this series.

3. The Pacers had as many turnovers as assists

Haliburton is known for his sparkling assist-to-turnover ratio, which is over five in these playoffs. Thursday, he held onto the ball, but the team as a whole had only 20 assists, and 20 turnovers.

The Knicks had 15 turnovers of their own, but the constant Pacers turnovers ruined their ability to play with, well, pace. Combined with New York shooting 49.4% from the field, Indiana were forced to play in the half court, where it had to deal with the Knicks' stifling pressure, which led to more turnovers. It was a vicious circle, and it led to frustrating defeat.

4. Karl-Anthony Towns was almost perfect — except for his fouling

For most of Game 5, the Pacers couldn't stop Towns. Midway through the third quarter, Towns had 19 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 8-for-12 from the field. In Towns' first 25 minutes, the Knicks were 25 points better than the Pacers. But in the third quarter, Towns started committing the unnecessary fouls that have plagued him in his playoff career.

He started by committing a charge 37 seconds into the quarter, then committed an unnecessary loose ball foul, then shoved Pascal Siakam in the back. At the 6:24 mark, Towns headed to the bench with four fouls and the Pacers immediately went on a 12-2 run. As a bonus, Indiana was able to get Mitchell Robinson off the floor with its "Hack-a-Mitch" strategy, forcing Tom Thibodeau to bring in third-stringer Precious Achiuwa.

Achiuwa did well, as did all of New York's reserves. Still, the Knicks are going to need Towns to stay on the floor going forward — especially when the Pacers can't stop him.

5. The Knicks have a deeper bench than their coach realized

During the regular season and playoffs, Thibodeau rode his starters hard. Mikal Bridges led the NBA in minutes, Josh Hart was second and OG Anunoby was ninth. On a per-game basis, Hart led the NBA with 37.6 minutes and the Knicks had three players in the top five, and all five starters were in the top 20.

But thanks to foul trouble forcing his hand, Thibodeau has had to turn to more reserves than just Miles McBride and Robinson in the conference finals. His deeper bench players have responded.

Landry Shamet played 11 minutes each in Games 3 and 4, and the Knicks were +18 in his minutes. In Game 5, Shamet was +4 in 14 minutes. Delon Wright (+4 Thursday) had logged just three minutes in the playoffs before playing 31 minutes over the last three games. 

The veterans aren't lighting it up, but they're playing excellent defense and making the Pacers work. Who would have guessed Thibodeau would start playing more guys in the playoffs?