jalen brunson game 5
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Jalen Brunson led the way for the New York Knicks in a huge Game 5 victory.
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks are still alive in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After a 111-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Brunson told TNT’s Allie LaForce, “We played Knicks basketball tonight.”
Brunson added, “We were just able to get stops early, run, we were able to convert and we just found a way. … I just feel like we played better. We played to our standards. … We’re just focused on one thing at a time, one quarter, and go from there, focus on the first quarter.”
Brunson had a game-high 32 points along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns, who was questionable entering the game after suffering an injury at the end of Game 4, added 26 points and 13 rebounds, despite foul trouble.
The Knicks held Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton to 8 points. Bennedict Mathurin was Indiana’s top scorer, with 23 points off the bench.
The Knicks travel back to Indiana for Game 6 on Saturday, May 31, at 8 p.m. on TNT, still down 3-2 in the series.
Knicks Coach Tom Thibodeau Credited a Team Effort With Shutting Down Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton
At his press conference after the game, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters, “It was probably a combination of him missing some shots he normally makes, but I thought our guys were tied together and trying to make him work for everything. And that’s what you have to do, you have to fight to win every possession.”
Thibodeau also credited the first quarter performances by Towns and Brunson, saying about Towns, “I thought he was very aggressive and I think that’s super important. I think Jalen as well, I thought the first quarter set the tone for the game. We’ve got to make sure we stay aggressive and we stay disciplined. I think staying disciplined and playing with toughness is huge.”
He added, “It’s been a hard fought series. … The games have all been real close, one possession games.”
Thibodeau also gave a shoutout to the Knicks bench players. “Delon (Wright), Landry (Shamet), I thought Precious (Achiuwa) gave us good minutes. Karl got in foul trouble there and they were following Mitch (Robinson) and Precious has done a real good job even though he hasn’t played, he’s put a lot of extra work in before practice and then after practice and he’s kept himself ready. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. So it was huge for us.”