Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 56 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, but the New York Knicks’ collective effort with bottling up Tyrese Haliburton was the determining factor in their dominant 111-94 victory.
After becoming the first player in NBA history to exceed 30 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists with zero turnovers in a playoff game during the Pacers’ 130-121 win in Game 4, the 2-time All-Star floor general Haliburton was held to just eight points and six assists in 31 minutes of action, as the creative point guard knocked down just two of his seven total field goal attempts.
It was proven that if Haliburton went down, Indiana would follow suit, as his forgettable performance contributed heavily to the team’s inability to hit the 100-point mark for the contest, making it the first time that the fiery offensive-minded group has failed to do so in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Following the decisive Knicks win, one NBA writer took to social media to express just how pivotal New York’s outing was, while also offering a prediction regarding their chances of forcing a Game 7 in Madison Square Garden with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
“This has been a tremendous, comprehensive performance by the Knicks from start to finish: a wire-to-wire big victory to send this series back to Indiana for Game 6,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps shared via Twitter/X on Thursday night.
“Yet another Knicks-Pacers series threatening to go the distance, as all of them do.”
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Following the Pacers’ seven-game series victory in the 2024 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals last season, both teams received the opportunity to meet again and add a new wrinkle to one of the NBA’s fiercest rivalries.
The Knicks’ 2025 Clutch Player of the Year winner Brunson made it a mission to keep his team’s season alive by scoring 32 points and knocking down four of his seven tries from three-point range, while Haliburton struggled mightily in his first attempt at closing out the series. As a result, Bontemps suggests that another series between the two franchises could once again go the distance.
As the Knicks head back to Indiana for Game 6, they’ll have another opportunity to boost their odds of advancing to the 2025 NBA Finals in stunning fashion to face 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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