Basketball in New York is different. It’s loud. It’s heavy. When the New York Knicks stepped onto the Madison Square Garden floor for Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers on May 14, 2024, the air felt like it was vibrating.
The series was knotted at 2-2. Momentum was a ghost. People were whispering that the Knicks were gassed, that the injuries to OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson had finally caught up to Tom Thibodeau’s "iron man" rotation.
Then Jalen Brunson happened. Again.
Honestly, if you weren't watching, it’s hard to describe the sheer inevitability of his performance that night. The final score was 121-91. A 30-point demolition. But the score doesn't tell the whole story of why this specific game became a cornerstone of the modern Knicks identity.
The Night Jalen Brunson Entered the Pantheon
Jalen Brunson finished with 44 points. He added 7 assists for good measure. He didn’t just score; he dismantled the Indiana defense with a surgical precision that made a very good Pacers team look like they were playing in slow motion.
It was his fifth 40-point game of that postseason.
Think about that. Only names like Jerry West, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James have done that more often in a single playoff run. Brunson was doing it at 6'2" while being hounded by Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard.
He had 28 points by halftime.
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The Garden was chanting "M-V-P" so loud you could barely hear the whistle. It wasn't just the scoring, though. It was the way he manipulated the floor. He’d get into the paint, stop on a dime, fake three times, and leave a defender jumping at shadows before floating a layup over the rim. Basically, he was playing a different game than everyone else.
Why Game 5 Knicks Pacers Was Won on the Glass
While Brunson was the headliner, Isaiah Hartenstein was the engine room.
The Knicks grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. Twenty.
Hartenstein himself accounted for 12 of those. That tied a franchise record set by Charles Oakley back in 1994. If you know anything about Knicks history, being mentioned in the same breath as Oakley is the ultimate badge of honor.
The Pacers looked shell-shocked. Rick Carlisle's squad is built on pace and space, but you can't run if you never get the ball. New York finished with 66 rebounds to Indiana's 38. It was a physical beatdown that reminded everyone why "Knicks Basketball" is a brand, not just a team name.
Josh Hart was right there with him, snagging 11 boards and chipping in 18 points. Hart played almost the entire game—which is just standard operating procedure for him at this point.
The Alec Burks "Redemption"
We have to talk about Alec Burks.
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Before this game, Burks was practically an afterthought. He’d been out of the rotation for weeks. But with the roster depleted and the stakes high, Thibodeau called his number.
He didn't just show up; he caught fire. 18 points. Five three-pointers.
Every time Indiana tried to make a mini-run to keep it respectable, Burks would hit a corner three and the roof would blow off the Garden. It was the kind of performance that proves why depth—even "forgotten" depth—is what separates contenders from pretenders in May.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Game
There’s a narrative that the Pacers just "didn't show up."
That’s lazy.
The Pacers shot 43% from the field. Not great, but not a total disaster. The issue was the volume. Because of those 20 offensive rebounds and 18 Indiana turnovers, the Knicks took 101 shots. Indiana took 72.
You can't win a playoff game when your opponent has 29 more chances to score than you do. It’s simple math.
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Tyrese Haliburton was held to just 13 points. The Knicks' defense, led by the relentless ball pressure of Miles McBride and Donte DiVincenzo, didn't let him breathe. They forced the ball out of his hands and made the Pacers' secondary creators beat them. They couldn't.
The Lasting Impact of the 121-91 Victory
Even though the Pacers eventually won the series in seven games, Game 5 remains the "high-water mark" for that specific iteration of the Knicks.
It showed the blueprint.
It proved that a team built on grit, rebounding, and a transcendent point guard could dominate a high-octane offense. It solidified the Brunson Era as something real, something that wasn't just a fluke regular-season story.
For the Pacers, it was a wake-up call. They realized they needed more physical presence, a lesson they clearly took to heart as they continued their run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Actionable Takeaways for the Next Season
If you're looking at what this means for the future of the rivalry, keep an eye on these factors:
- The Rebound Margin: Whenever these two teams play, look at the offensive boards first. It determines the pace.
- The Bench Factor: Burks proved that one random bench performance can shift a series. Watch for the 8th and 9th men in the next matchup.
- The Point Guard Battle: Haliburton vs. Brunson is now one of the premier individual rivalries in the East. They play completely different styles, and whoever dictates the tempo wins.
The 2024 playoffs gave us a lot of great moments, but the Game 5 Knicks Pacers clash was a masterclass in atmospheric pressure and physical dominance. It was the night the Garden truly felt like the Mecca again.