Defiant Knicks keep season alive with Game 5 win over Pacers in East finals | NBA

The New York Knicks avoided elimination on Thursday night, beating the Indiana Pacers 111-94 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals behind 32 points from Jalen Brunson and 24 points and 13 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns. The win keeps the Knicks’ season alive and forces a Game 6 in Indianapolis on Saturday.

New York, down 3-1 in the best-of-seven-games series, won at home for the first time in the conference finals and denied Indiana a chance to clinch their second ever NBA finals appearance. The Knicks are trying to become just the 14th team in league history to overturn a 3-1 series deficit and the first to do it in the East finals after losing the first two games at home.

The brilliant Brunson bounced back from a quiet Game 4 to deliver his 21st career playoff game with 30 or more points, extending a franchise record he set last week. Towns, listed as questionable entering the game with a bruised knee, scored 12 points in the second quarter to help the Knicks build a 13-point half-time lead. New York then opened the third with an 8-0 run and pulled away with a 12-0 burst late in the period, capped by a Brunson four-point play.

Indiana, who had won six straight on the road, struggled offensively and finished with their lowest-scoring game of the postseason. Tyrese Haliburton, who had a triple-double in Game 4, was limited to eight points and six assists. Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 23 off the bench.

Game 6 is Saturday night in Indiana. A Knicks win would send the series back to Madison Square Garden for a decisive Game 7 on Monday.

More to follow.