The New York Knicks responded with their backs to the wall and now are focused on forcing a Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Suddenly, the Indiana Pacers are the team facing more pressure entering the pivotal Game 6 on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Indiana holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. However, clinching a spot in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000 will be a much easier endeavor in front of the home fans. Game 7, if needed, would be in New York.
“We understand what the stakes are,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said. “We’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything.”
The third-seeded Knicks were clearly the better team in Thursday’s 111-94 home victory. New York never trailed, shut down Haliburton, dominated the interior and forced 20 turnovers to deliver a convincing victory.
Jalen Brunson had 32 points, five rebounds and five assists and Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 13 rebounds. Towns thrived while playing with an ailing left knee.
“This team is special,” Towns said. “In this series, we haven’t been able to close out games we wanted to. We’ve had moments of brilliance and (Thursday) we showed the world how special we are.”
New York’s task of evening the series will be much easier if it can once again slow Haliburton, the leader of the fourth-seeded Pacers.
Haliburton delivered a performance for the ages in Game 4 when he had 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds without a turnover, the first time a player achieved a 30-15-10-0 stat line in NBA postseason history. He also made five 3-pointers and had four steals in the 130-121 home triumph.
But Game 5 was a totally different experience for Haliburton. New York hounded him from the outset and mixed its defenders to keep the Indiana star off-balance. Haliburton had just eight points, six assists and two rebounds. He took just seven shots, sinking two.
“As a team, we need to have a level of balance,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “I’ll look at it. There are more things I need to do to help him. I will take responsibility for that and we’ll see where we can improve.”
New York’s Mikal Bridges fueled the defensive charge but had plenty of help.
“Just starting with Mikal, wanting to pick up full court, make anything that (Haliburton) was doing hard,” Knicks backup guard Miles McBride said. “Whether it was denying him, trying to stay into his body or guys being up, just trying to make it hard.”
Meanwhile, the Knicks outscored Indiana 60-34 in the paint in Game 5 as Towns repeatedly drove for baskets. Perhaps more startling was that Indiana’s edge in fastbreak points was limited to 16-15; over the first four games, the Pacers held a whopping 65-23 advantage.
“I’m just happy with the way we responded, honestly,” Brunson said. “We came out and had some energy to the way we played. I’m very proud of what we did, and we have to try to replicate it.”
Brunson made 12 of 18 shots while notching his fourth 30-point outing of the series. He is averaging 33 points in the series. Towns averages 25.4 points and 11.8 rebounds.
For Indiana, Haliburton averages 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Pascal Siakam is also faring well with a 23.6-point average.
Siakam wants to see the Pacers raise their level of play on Saturday.
“They played harder than us,” Siakam said of Game 5. “It’s OK. We played hard, but they played harder.”
–Field Level Media
