No quit, all grit, close knit.
All playoffs long, Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks lived up to these words and are now one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jalen Brunson lit up the MSG crowd anew with a 44-point explosion, as the Knicks led by as many as 31 points en route to a dominating 121-91 Game 5 rout of the Indiana Pacers, taking a 3-2 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals showdown.
Jalen Brunson drops 44 PTS, 4 REB & 7 AST as the New York Knicks DOMINATE the Indiana Pacers 121-91 to take a 3-2 SERIES LEAD! pic.twitter.com/3VyyZrbDV5
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) May 15, 2024
Brunson electrified the home crowd again with a sizzling scoring performance, dropping his fifth 40-point game this postseason alone to go along with four rebounds and seven assists in 43 minutes.
The Knicks superstar guard dropped 35 markers already by the end of the third as the Knicks seized a 96-75 lead heading into the fourth.
Jalen Brunson forces his way to 35 PTS 😤
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2024
NYK leads IND in the 3Q of Game 5 on TNT pic.twitter.com/zcRfRF9OXE
The former Villanova Wildcat also recorded the most points in a half in Knicks playoff history with 28 in the first half, including 18 alone in the second quarter for New York, who won all of their home games so far in this series.
Josh Hart added a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Miles McBride shone in his first career playoff start with 17 markers.
Isaiah Hartenstein made his presence felt with seven points and a career-high 17 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive end, and added five assists.
Alec Burks came off the bench to chip in 18 in 23 minutes.
After scoring just 89 points in Game 4, the Knicks came up big in Game 5, the third time in the series that New York dropped 120+ points.
Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam led the way for the Pacers with 22 points while Myles Turner added 18 for the Pacers, who got outrebounded, 53-29, and could not overcome 18 turnovers. Tyrese Haliburton added 13 markers while Andrew Nembhard chipped in 11.
Indiana opened the third frame on a 9-1 run to trim New York’s lead to 70-63 after a 69-54 halftime deficit.
9-0 PACERS RUN ??
— NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2024
Myles Turner comes out SCORCHING in the 2H with 3 straight triples for Indy 🔥
IND seeks a 3-2 series lead on TNT pic.twitter.com/n2LKxvCubv
However, the Pacers got outscored, 51-28, the rest of the way as they suffered their largest loss in the playoffs so far.
Game 6 of this series returns to Indianapolis on Saturday, May 18, Philippine time.
