New York City. Thursday night. MSG. Celebrities framing the court. Knicks on the brink of elimination. New York, New York, Big City of Dreams….
All the dreams fluttering in the air were turned into reality, as the Knicks staved off elimination for one night with an impressive 111-94 victory in Game 5.
The Knicks came out intense and focused, scoring the first six points of the game, and maintained the lead for the entirety of the game. Every Pacers run was met with a barricade, forcing the tide to return back to the horizon.
New York converted 49.4% from the field and held Indiana to 40.5%. New York made fewer three-pointers and free throws while conceding more points off turnovers. But it had three more offensive rebounds and scored a 26 more points in the paint.
The duo of Jalen Brunson ($9,200; 48.25 FPTS) and Karl-Anthony Towns ($8,200; 46.75 FPTS) were fantastic. Brunson put up 32 points, five rebounds, five assists and a block in 34 minutes. He shot a blistering 12-of-18 from the field, 4-of-7 from downtown and made all four of his free throws.
Towns contributed 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and a steal in 36 minutes. He also tickled the twine by drilling 10-of-20 shots. Towns went 1-of-4 from beyond the arc and 3-of-5 from the line.
Josh Hart ($6,700; 34.5 FPTS) contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Landry Shamet ($3,000; 8.25 FPTS) only played 14 minutes, but played excellent defense and drilled 2-of-3 shots, with one from downtown. He finished with five points, a rebound and a steal, receiving adoration from the MSG crowd.
For Indiana:
Bennedict Mathurin ($3,400; 33.75 FPTS) was the high-scorer with 23 points. He went 6-of-10 from the floor, 2-of-4 from downtown and a perfect 9-for-9 from the line. He also grabbed nine rebounds and played 25 minutes.
Tyrese Haliburton ($8,500; 25.5 FPTS) had his first poor game of the series. He only attempted seven shots and missed five. He finished with eight points, two rebounds, six assists, a block and two steals.
Pascal Siakam ($6,800; 35.5 FPTS) finished with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
T. J. McConnell ($3,300; 21.75 FPTS) continues to produce in limited minutes. McConnell finished with seven points, five rebounds, five assists and a block in 18 minutes.
Jarace Walker ($3,000; 11.25 FPTS) was a DNP in the first four games of the series. He got 13 minutes on Thursday and had six points, a rebound, a steal and a block. His defense was good and he drained two of four shots from beyond the arc.
Game 6 is Saturday in Indiana.
DraftKings Sportsbook has Indiana favored by four points with the over/under at 220. Indiana is -175 on the moneyline.
New York is +280 to win the series.
