Knicks lock down Pacers in Game 5 to stave off elimination

The Knicks held the Pacers to 40.5% shooting and only 10 three-pointers Thursday night in a game where they never trailed. Despite a few runs, Indiana didn't get within 10 points in the second half in a game where the Knicks forced 20 turnovers.

A big reason was Jalen Brunson, who seemed to hit a big shot every time the Pacers started to come back. Brunson played like a guy who wasn't ready for his season to be over, scoring the first six points of the game and finishing with 32 points and five assists on 12-for-18 shooting.

He and Karl-Anthony Towns (24 points, 13 rebounds) became the first pair of teammates to each score 20 or more points in the first five games of a conference finals series since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2002 — and before that, since Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in 1966. Towns was so effective going to the basket that the Pacers tried six different big men in Game 5, to no avail.

For the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton followed up his 32-point triple-double in Game 4 with a eight-point, six-assist performance in Game 5 where he made only two shots from the field. All the Pacers starters struggled: Andrew Nembhard scored six points, Myles Turner had five and Game 1 hero Aaron Nesmith was held to three points.

It was a dominant victory that gives the Knicks a chance on the road in Indianapolis on Saturday. Despite the loud Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd waiting for them, the Knicks are 6-2 on the road in the playoffs. 

They're still down 3-2, but with the way the Knicks defense is playing, this series is far from over.