NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson scored 44 points, reaching 40 for the fifth time this postseason, and the New York Knicks moved a win away from their first Eastern Conference finals trip since 2000 by beating the Indiana Pacers 121-91 on Tuesday night in Game 5.
The Knicks rebounded from a blowout loss on Sunday and guaranteed themselves at least one more game at Madison Square Garden in front of their roaring fans who have been aching to see big games in late spring again. Josh Hart had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Miles McBride scored 17 points after he was inserted into the starting lineup.
The No. 2-seeded Knicks can win the second-round series Friday night at Indianapolis after the first two-day break between games in the series. (Caitlin Clark‘s WNBA home debut with the Indiana Fever is scheduled for Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.)
“We still need one more win so we can’t get too excited about it,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We have to understand what we need to do, stay focused on the task at hand. If you feel good about yourself you get knocked down in this league. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Game 7, if necessary, would be Sunday afternoon in New York.
Brunson hurt his right foot in Game 2 and was limited to 18 points on Sunday, his lowest of the postseason, as the Pacers ran the Knicks off the floor in a 121-89 romp. He kept insisting he was fine — and there was no reason to question that Tuesday.
Pulling up quickly for 3-pointers off the dribble or using his series of fakes and spins to set up soft jumpers in the lane, Brunson shot 18-for-35 from the field and again looked like the player who finished fifth this season in MVP voting, not the one who shot 10-for-26 in Game 3 and 6-for-17 on Sunday.
He scored 28 in the first half in Game 5, a Knicks playoff record, then put the game away in the fourth with seven straight points, capped by a three-point play that made it 106-86 with 7:57 to go.
Brunson, who scored 43 in Game 1 to become the fourth player in NBA history with four consecutive 40-point games in the playoffs, had plenty of help Tuesday.
Alec Burks, who had been out of the rotation entirely until reemerging after a rash of injuries, added 18 points off the bench, and Isaiah Hartenstein put up seven points and 17 rebounds, helping the Knicks overwhelm the Pacers 53-29 on the glass.
“We got annihilated on loose balls, rebounds. Gave up 20 offensive rebounds and 29 more shots. So, we all own it,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “But very embarrassing. Very embarrassing and a hard lesson.”
Pascal Siakam scored 22 points for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who will try to stay unbeaten at home in the postseason to force the decisive game. Myles Turner added 16 points, but All-Star Tyrese Haliburton had only 13 points after averaging 29.7 over the past three games.
Indiana got off to a strong start and was leading 25-20 before the Knicks surged ahead with an 11-0 run en route to a 38-32 lead after one quarter. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle burned three timeouts in the quarter, the crowd seemingly growing louder with each one.
Brunson had consecutive baskets for a 13-point lead early in the second quarter then put in the first basket in a 9-0 run that made it 65-47 with 2:11 remaining.
The Knicks haven’t reached the conference finals since the Pacers beat them in 2000 in the sixth meeting between the teams in eight years. This one had some of that 1990s Knicks-Pacers fierceness in a game featuring five technical fouls.
Indiana’s Isaiah Jackson was called for a foul for a hard pick that knocked New York’s Donte DiVincenzo to the court in the first half. Hartenstein walked up to and got chest-to-chest with Jackson, and Burks also came in and appeared to bring his hand up and make contact with Jackson. All three players were called for technical fouls.
Later, after DiVincenzo slammed down the miss of Brunson’s jumper, he and Turner got tangled up as DiVincenzo tried to fight through a pick. They then screamed at each other after a foul was called, and both were T’d up as the crowd chanted DiVincenzo’s name while referees reviewed the play.