Brunson, Cities carry Knicks to 111-94 victory, slicing Pacers’ sequence result in 3-2
Jalen Brunson scored 32 factors, Karl-Anthony Cities added 24 factors and 13 rebounds regardless of a bruised left knee and the New York Knicks stayed alive within the Japanese Convention finals by beating the Indiana Pacers 111-94 on Thursday night time in Sport 5.
The Knicks gained on their residence flooring for the primary time within the sequence and prevented the Pacers from incomes the second NBA Finals journey in franchise historical past. Indiana will strive once more Saturday night time at residence.
Knicks followers chanted “Knicks in 7! Knicks in 7!” within the last minutes as New York prolonged its first journey to the convention finals since 2000 and saved alive hopes of changing into the 14th crew to beat a 3-1 deficit to win a sequence. No crew has gained a convention finals sequence after dropping the primary two video games at residence.
Two nights after giving up 43 factors within the first quarter, the Knicks held the Pacers to simply 45 within the first half and restricted Tyrese Haliburton, who had 32 factors, 15 assists and 12 rebounds Tuesday, to simply eight factors and 6 assists.
Brunson, outplayed by his level guard counterpart Tuesday, rebounded along with his franchise-record twentieth postseason recreation of 30 or extra factors with the Knicks.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 factors off the bench for the Pacers, who had gained six straight highway video games. Indiana shot simply 40.5% from the sphere in by far its lowest-scoring recreation of the postseason.
Brunson scored 14 within the first quarter because the Knicks held a 27-23 lead — giving up 20 fewer factors than within the first quarter of Sport 4, after they trailed 43-35.
Cities, who was questionable to play after hurting his left knee in a collision late in Sport 4, picked up the slack with 12 within the second, when Brunson was scoreless.
Brunson got here again with the Knicks’ first eight of the third quarter as they opened a 20-point lead halfway by way of the interval. The Pacers lower that in half earlier than New York regained management with a 12-0 burst, highlighted by Brunson’s four-point play, to make it 86-64.