Jalen Brunson, NY Knicks earn trip back to Indiana for Game 6

Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks hits a three-point shot in the second quarter against Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers during Game 5. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED May 30, 2025, 12:31 PM

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NEW YORK – Karl-Anthony Towns knew where the Eastern Conference Finals stood as he evaluated the pain in his left knee prior to the game on May 29.

The New York Knicks were staring at elimination, and it supplied him with a clear course of action.

“I looked at the game and it was ‘Game 5, do or die’,” Towns said. “That was pretty much all I needed to see.”

Towns and Jalen Brunson were both on top of their games and New York staved off elimination with a convincing 111-94 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers in Game 5.

The Knicks, who cut their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, will have the opportunity to tie when the teams meet in Indianapolis on May 31 (June 1, Singapore time).

Brunson scored 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and Towns played through his injury to record 24 points and 13 rebounds as the third-seeded Knicks led wire to wire.

“I just feel like we played better,” Brunson said. “We played to our standards.”

Towns believes the Knicks have to play with the same conviction in Game 6.

“We have no room for error,” he said. “Our backs are against the wall and every game is do or die. If we don’t bring that energy or execution, our season will be over.”

Bennedict Mathurin registered 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the fourth-seeded Pacers. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, and reserve Obi Toppin added 11.

Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton was largely silent, finishing with eight points and six assists. Two nights earlier, he had 30 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and zero turnovers in a stellar Game 4 effort.

“Rough night for me. I’ve got to be better setting the tone and getting downhill,” he said.

“I feel I didn’t do a great job of that. They picked up the pressure a little bit more and applied more as the game went on. Put it on me. I got to be better in Game 6.”

The Knicks shot 49.4 per cent from the field in Game 5, including eight of 29 (27.6 per cent) from three-point range. Indiana connected on 40.5 per cent of their shots and were 10 of 30 from behind the arc while committing 19 turnovers. The Pacers trailed by as many as 22 points.

“It was a bad start. We never had the lead,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

“There were a multitude of things going wrong. There were stretches in the game where we got a little bit of traction but never enough.” REUTERS

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