Knicks defeat Pacers in Game 5 with 44 points from Jalen Brunson.

A little over halfway through the first quarter on Tuesday, Madison Square Garden supporters witnessed a change in their squad as the Knicks used an 18-7 surge to end the period against the Pacers. The squad did, however, experience a noticeable spike after guard Miles McBride was added to the starting lineup, but he claimed that the surge came much earlier.

In the fifth game of the best-of-seven series, the outcome was completely different: the Knicks outscored Indiana 121-91 to grab a 3-2 lead. On Friday night, they’ll head to Indianapolis in hopes of eliminating the Pacers and making it to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000.

After a terrible performance in Game 4, Jalen Brunson bounced back to lead the Knicks with 44 points and seven assists. He scored at least 40 points for the fifth time in the semifinals, making him the player with the most in a single postseason since LeBron James had eight in 2018.

The Pacers’ decision to support Brunson made the outburst noteworthy. During the course of Game 5, they unleashed a stunning 28 double-teams on the guard, which is eight more than Indiana had employed against him in the combined first four games.

Due to the amount of room Brunson and the Knicks had to work with when McBride was added to the starting five, the strategy—which was useful in Game 4 when the team began two big men—was ineffective on Tuesday. Second Spectrum statistics indicates that McBride established a career high of 23 on-ball screenings, which is almost quadruple what it was before.

“McBride is a huge asset to our spacing strategy because he can create plays when players rotate to him in addition to making shots. Regarding the third-year guard, who started in place of power player Precious Achiuwa and finished with 17 points and four assists while containing Indiana standout Tyrese Haliburton”, Brunson remarked, “He was in that position today, and he played really well.” OG Anunoby, who has missed the previous three games of the series due to a hamstring strain, was being replaced by Achiuwa. In addition, the Knicks are without backup centre Mitchell Robinson, backup wing Bojan Bogdanovic, and All-NBA forward Julius Randle.

Making an impression on the glass was New York, the NBA’s top offensive rebounding team during the regular season. Through the first half, the Knicks had 12 more offensive rebounds than the Pacers had overall (11). Furthermore, as the Pacers substituted their starting lineup with 4:16 left in the game, Hartenstein and Hart had combined for as many rebounds (28) as Indiana had as a unit. Second-chance points were scored by New York 26-9 against Indiana during the game.

After going on a 17-0 run in the third quarter of the second half, the Knicks finally opened up the game. In the middle of that run, DiVincenzo crushed a Brunson miss, energising the Garden crowd.

After that play, DiVincenzo collided with Myles Turner of the Pacers, forcing Turner to approach the Knicks guard as they made their way back down the floor. Every player received a technical foul as a result of the brief altercation and foul language. “They’re trying to be tough guys, and that’s not their identity—nobody is going to fight in the NBA,” DiVincenzo said of Turner following the game. You’re not a manly figure.