Game Rewind: Pacers 91, Knicks 121 (Game 5)

Tuesday, May 14 at 8:00 PM ET at Madison Square Garden

After five games, neither the New York Knicks nor Indiana Pacers have given up a home game in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Dominating the rebounding margin 53-29, forcing 18 turnovers, and getting 44 points from star guard Jalen Brunson, the Knicks (3-2) posted a 121-91 Game 5 win over the Pacers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

The series now turns back to Indianapolis, as the Pacers will host the Knicks for Game 6 on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. If a Game 7 is necessary, the Knicks will host the final matchup on Sunday afternoon.

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The Knicks led by 15 points at halftime before using a 19-0 run in the third quarter – holding the Pacers scoreless for almost seven minutes – to take a 21-point lead into the final frame. The Pacers never got closer than 12 points off the lead in the fourth quarter.

New York outscored Indiana 62-36 in the paint, 26-9 in second-chance points, and 27-21 in bench points. Both teams made 12 3-pointers.

From the field overall, the Knicks finished 47-for-101 and the Pacers went 31-for-72.

Brunson finished 18-for-35 (2-for-6 from 3-point range) from the field en route to his series-high 44 points. After Brunson, Josh Hart and Alec Burks each had 18 points, and Miles McBride added 17. In addition, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein pulled down 17 rebounds for the Knicks, including 12 offensive boards which tied Charles Oakley’s Knicks playoff record for offensive rebounds in a game.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points, Myles Turner had 16, and Tyrese Haliburton finished with 13 points and five assists.

“If we don’t get stops and rebounds, our game is not going to look good,” Pacers head coach Rick Carilsle said. “We’re not going to be able to get the ball out, all of our playmakers aren't going to have opportunities to get the ball and attack. If you take the ball out of the net, particularly after free throws and offensive rebounds, you’re climbing an uphill battle. They turned their pressure up tonight and our pressure was virtually nonexistent. We failed on many levels. We’ve got to make some serious adjustments for Game 6 and get out of here and get home.”

The Knicks led the Pacers 69-54 at halftime. Brunson scored 28 points to start the game, and New York outrebounded Indiana 27-11 (12-2 offensive) in the first half while the Blue & Gold had nine turnovers.

In the first quarter, the Knicks shot 57 percent as a team and pulled down seven offensive rebounds to build a 38-32 lead over the Pacers. Indiana shot 55 percent in the first quarter but had five turnovers in the frame.

All five Pacers starters scored in successive order to start the game, and the Blue & Gold made six of their first 10 shots to lead 16-9 four minutes after the tip.

The teams then traded baskets until a 15-3 New York run, during which McBride scored a trio of baskets from close range, gave the Knicks a 31-25 advantage with 2:10 on the clock.

Out of a timeout, Obi Toppin ended the Knicks' scoring spree by draining a pair of free throws before Aaron Nesmith hit two hit freebies of his own and Siakam made a three for the Blue & Gold to pull within a possession. Burks hit a 3-pointer for the Knicks with 11 seconds on the clock to put his team back up by six.

New York strung together 8-1 and 8-2 runs through the first four minutes of the second quarter, as Brunson caught fire by scoring 12 points during the stretch, to extend the Knicks' lead to 54-40 and force an Indiana timeout.

Out of the huddle, the Blue & Gold answered with a 7-2 run of their own, where Andrew Nembhard made his second 3-pointer of the night, but the Knicks then scored 11 unanswered points to go up 65-47.

In the final two minutes of the first half, the Pacers got a layup from Haliburton, an and-one from Toppin, and free throws by Siakam to cut it to 15 points going into the break. Game 5 was the first time the Knicks have led at halftime in any game during the series.

In the first two minutes of the third quarter, Turner made three straight 3-pointers to cut it to 70-63 with 9:56 on the clock, prompting a Knicks timeout. The Pacers then didn’t record a basket for almost seven minutes..

New York responded to Turner’s hot shooting with a 17-0 string, featuring five points each by McBride and Brunson, to extend the Knicks' lead to 91-64 with 3:13 left in the third quarter.

A 3-pointer by Pacers rookie Ben Sheppard stopped the bleeding for the visitors with 2:56 left in the frame, but the teams went basket-for-basket the remainder of the period as the Pacers trailed 96-75 heading into the fourth quarter.

“When things are going bad, we just have to do a better job of coming better together as a group,” Haliburton said. “I felt we were a little frenzied today. Obviously the Garden is a great environment and they have a great fanbase, but we just have to do a better job of coming together as a group. … That’s starts with me as a leader.”

Indiana opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run, led by six points from Siakam, but the Knicks responded with a 10-2 string to go up 106-86 before coasting to the win.

Jalen Brunson has scored 40 points or more five times this postseason. Tuesday was his second time scoring at least 40 against the Pacers (43 points in Game 1).

Indiana shot 17-for-22 from the free throw line and New York went 15-for-19.

The Pacers had 18 turnovers and the Knicks finished with nine.

There was one lead change and one tie in the game.

In his first postseason start, Miles McBride had 17 points for the Knicks.

The Knicks took 101 total shots in the game and the Pacers put up 72 shots.

“Very poor effort, obviously. Lost every quarter. Got annihilated on loose balls and rebounds. Gave up 20 offensive rebounds and 29 more shots. We all own it, but very embarrassing. Very embarrassing and a hard lesson.” – Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on the loss

“It was box-outs for sure. It’s just a cold-blooded desire to go get the ball, to make contact with somebody and go get the ball.  That’s what it is and we did not do it, and so we paid a heavy price.” – Carlisle on the rebounding

“There’s no excuses, but all the guys on our roster, I believe it’s the first time they’ve been in a Game 5 tied 2-2 going on the road. You learn a lot in those situations very quickly. For us, give up 38 in the first quarter, and lose by nine in the second, and lose by six in the third, and then get wiped out in the fourth. This is a different circumstance, and as a playoff series progresses it’s going to get harder and harder.” - Carlisle on the loss

“A smaller lineup, intuitively, you would think would give us a better chance to do well on the boards. But their overall level of fight in this game was superior to what ours was and that’s the bottom line. “ – Carlisle on New York’s lineup change

“Bad situations, poor decisions. This is how things can snowball when you’re not doing hte little things well. … There are a lot of things that are connected to a lot of things.“ – Carlisle on the 18  turnovers

“I think just the momentum shifted. They killed us on the glass better than they probably have any game all series. We just didn’t match that intensity level all night. …. We just have to do a better job of eliminating second-chance opportunities. I think the first half they shot 15 more shots than us - how do you win a game when teams are doing that, you know? We turned the ball over at a high rate today which is something we haven’t done all playoffs. We will watch some film and be ready to respond in Game 6.“ – Haliburton on the game unraveling after the first quarter

“I think a lot of our turnovers were self-inflicted. I do think that I gotta watch the film to really see where we can be better there. Kudos to them - they had a good night and are a good defensive team. They did what they’re supposed to do, and now it’s time for us to go home and do what we’re supposed to do. “ – Haliburton on the turnovers

“I just gotta do a better job of being aggressive. I think if you go back to Game 1, I said the same thing after Game 1. It’s more on me than on what anyone else is doing. I will fix that next game.“ – Haliburton on his 13 points

Indiana was outrebounded 53-29 in the game, including 20-5 on the offensive glass. 

The Pacers will host the Knicks for Game 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday, May 17. The time for Game 6 is TBD. Find Tickets >>