Pacers have nothing for Knicks in Game 5, now look to close series at Fieldhouse
The Pacers blew their first opportunity to close out the Knicks and will try again on Saturday night in Indy.
The Knicks jumped out to an early lead and rolled past the Pacers for a 111-94 win in Game 5 at MSG. The most positive thing to say about the Pacers in this one is that it was remarkable the Knicks didn’t win by 40, or at least lead by 30 to 40 points for long stretches of this game.
Nothing seemed to go well for the Pacers and all of their usual indicators of a win or loss were heavily slanted toward a loss. The Knicks dominated the possession game thanks to 20 turnovers and the usual rebounding deficit for the Pacers. That helped give the Knicks 15 more shots in the game.
Many of those shots were around the rim, as the Knicks outscored the Pacers in points in the paint, 60-34 with Karl-Anthony Towns (24 points) and Jalen Brunson (32 points) finding their way in the paint with relative ease much of the night. The Pacers don’t have a single person who can keep Towns contained on the drive and only had one charge from a help defender. That lack of help will have to change in Game 6.
The Knicks did more damage at the defensive end, getting strong efforts from Mikal Bridges on Tyrese Haliburton, Mitchell Robinson in the paint and OG Anunoby all over the place. Similar to the face guarding in Game 3 of the Cleveland series, Haliburton was wiped out of his usual role, taking just 7 shots, scoring 8 points with 6 assists. This after an elite performance to deliver a Game 4 W.
While the Knicks defense was focused on bottling up Haliburton, there was little urgency to bust through and try to get to the rim or at least in the paint to force more help or scoring opportunities. Game 6 will require a far more assertive effort from not just Haliburton, but the full rotation to set solid pick, cut hard with purpose and pressure the Knicks defense instead of giving in.
Again, the Pacers lost by 17 and had a few second half runs that gave hope for another full comeback, but when Pascal Siakam leads the starters with 15 points and the other four starters COMBINE for 22 points…ain’t happening and again, how did they not lose by 40.
Myles Turner took 3 shots and finished with 5 points and 4 turnovers, fully frustrated by how the game was called with KAT running roughshod through the lane. Andrew Nembhard was not much help with Haliburton stymied as the Knicks threw OG at him
The Pacers did get some quality bench minutes from Bennedict Mathurin who lead all Pacers with 23 points. With Mathurin playing over 24 minutes, Aaron Nesmith only played about 16 minutes. Specific reasons for this were glossed over, but Nesmith wasn’t moving as well as he did in Game 4, so hopefully the ankle is not going to remain a lingering issue for the Pacers best defender against the Knicks.
Jarace Walker made his series debut and was ready to go, making a couple of threes and providing some size and strength on defense. When he stays on the ground, Walker can make an impact defensively with his great close out length. He just needs to avoid the careless reaches on D and the careless turnovers on O.
Don’t rule out anybody playing in Game 6 as the Pacers should be able to match the Knicks level of desperation this time around. Their bounce back ability will have to remain elite, having not lost consecutive games since March 10. But none of those past responses matter at this point. All that matters now is the 48 minutes of playing their best that lies in front of the Pacers and a trip to the NBA Finals.
Gotta find a way.
Game 6: Pacers vs. Knicks
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Saturday, May 31, 2025, 8:00 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers -4
Projected Starters
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Knicks: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson
Injuries
Pacers: Tony Bradley (hip) - questionable, Isaiah Jackson (Achilles) - out
Knicks: None