With their backs against the wall and Madison Square Garden roaring, the New York Knicks produced a defiant 111-94 win over the Indiana Pacers to extend the Eastern Conference Finals and ignite hope of an improbable comeback.
Jalen Brunson was the heartbeat once again, dropping 32 points to keep New York’s postseason dream flickering. It was his 21st 30-point playoff game for the Knicks which is a new franchise record that underscores his postseason pedigree. This time, though, he had help.
Karl-Anthony Towns, battling a bruised knee, delivered a gutsy 24-point, 13-rebound performance that inspired the Garden faithful. His second-quarter surge, while Brunson went cold, was crucial in keeping Indiana at arm’s length. The two combined to give the Knicks a punch the Pacers simply couldn’t counter.
After a Game 4 defensive disaster, New York came out with purpose. Gone was the leaky perimeter; in came the hustle. They held the Pacers to just 45 first-half points and completely neutralized Tyrese Haliburton, who managed only eight after torching them two nights earlier.
Bennedict Mathurin’s 23 points off the bench offered a spark for Indiana, but it wasn’t enough to offset their worst shooting night of the postseason. They never found rhythm against a Knicks defense that finally resembled the team that battered Milwaukee in Round 1.
Brunson set the tone early, pouring in 14 first-quarter points as New York held Indiana to a 23-point opening frame. Then came the third-quarter blitz, a devastating 12-0 Knicks run capped by a four-point play from Brunson that sent MSG into a frenzy and re-established a commanding lead.
As the clock wound down, chants of “Knicks in 7!” echoed across the arena. History is against them as no team has ever won a conference final after dropping the first two games at home, but this team isn’t listening to history. They’re writing their own.
