Basketball in New York feels different. It’s louder. It’s more desperate. When the Knicks took the floor for Knicks Pacers Game 5 at Madison Square Garden during the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the air was thick with that specific brand of Manhattan anxiety. The series was knotted at 2-2. Momentum was a ghost. Indiana had just embarrassed New York in Game 4, winning by 32 points. People were writing the Knicks' obituary, citing the grueling minutes Tom Thibodeau forced his starters to play. They looked cooked.
Then the ball tipped.
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What followed wasn't just a win; it was a 121-91 demolition that recaptured the soul of the city. Jalen Brunson didn't just play basketball. He performed surgery. He dropped 44 points on a Pacers defense that looked like it was chasing a shadow in a dark room. Honestly, if you watched that game, you saw the moment the Pacers realized that "tired" is a relative term when you're playing in front of 19,000 screaming New Yorkers.
The Brunson Masterclass and the Pacers' Defensive Collapse
Jalen Brunson is a problem. Not a "we need to adjust our scheme" problem, but a "nothing we do actually works" problem. After a couple of shaky outings where Indiana’s length seemed to bother him, Game 5 was a return to form. He went 18-for-35 from the floor. He didn't just score; he dictated. He’d use that low center of gravity to bump Andrew Nembhard, create two inches of daylight, and bury a mid-range jumper that felt like a dagger every single time.
It’s kinda wild how the Pacers approached him. Rick Carlisle tried everything. They tried traps. They tried single coverage. They tried switching bigs onto him. Nothing stuck. By the second quarter, Brunson had already poured in 28 points. That’s a full game’s work for most All-Stars. For him, it was just the warmup.
The Knicks Pacers Game 5 wasn't just about the scoring, though. It was about the rebounding.
Isaiah Hartenstein turned into a vacuum. He grabbed 17 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive glass. Think about that for a second. Twelve offensive rebounds. That is essentially twelve extra possessions handed to a team that already has a guy scoring 44 points. It was demoralizing for Indiana. Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam were left looking at each other, wondering how a guy with a "limited" vertical was beating them to every loose ball. The Pacers were out-rebounded 53-29. You can’t win playoff games when you’re getting doubled up on the glass. You just can’t.
Why the Garden Environment Actually Matters
Critics love to say that "crowd noise doesn't score points." Those people have never been to MSG for a pivotal Game 5. The energy in the building during Knicks Pacers Game 5 was palpable through the television screen. Every time Josh Hart dove for a ball or Donte DiVincenzo hit a transition three, the floor seemed to shake.
The Pacers looked rattled. Tyrese Haliburton, who had been the engine of the Indiana offense, finished with just 13 points. He took only nine shots. In a game of this magnitude, having your best player take nine shots is a recipe for disaster. The Knicks’ physical, handsy defense—led by OG Anunoby’s absence but fueled by Miles McBride’s relentless energy—forced Haliburton into a passive role.
McBride was the unsung hero. Thibs started him to juice the spacing, and Deuce responded with 17 points and defense that made life miserable for Indiana’s backcourt. It was a tactical masterstroke. By shrinking the rotation even further, New York leaned into their identity: we will outwork you, even if our legs are falling off.
The Josh Hart Iron Man Myth
Josh Hart played 39 minutes. At this point in the season, that felt like a light workload for him. Hart is basically the human embodiment of a Starbucks double-shot espresso. He finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but his impact is always about the "stuff" that doesn't show up in a box score. It’s the way he sprints in transition to stop a layup. It’s the way he screams at his teammates after a defensive lapse.
Indiana’s bench, which had been their secret weapon all series, finally went cold. T.J. McConnell, who usually looks like he’s playing at 2x speed, was held in check. Obi Toppin’s homecoming was quiet. Without that second-unit spark, the Pacers had no way to claw back into the game once the Knicks pushed the lead to 20 in the third quarter.
Strategy and Historical Context
When you look back at Knicks Pacers Game 5, it serves as a reminder of how playoff basketball is often about attrition. The Pacers wanted to run. They wanted a track meet. The Knicks wanted a mud fight. New York won the stylistic battle by slowing the game down in the half-court and then absolutely punishing Indiana on the boards.
This game also highlighted a massive disparity in playoff experience and mental toughness. The Knicks, despite being decimated by injuries—no Julius Randle, no Mitchell Robinson, no Bojan Bogdanovic, and an injured OG Anunoby—played like the more composed team. Indiana, young and ascending, looked like a team that wasn't quite ready for the bright lights of a Tuesday night in Midtown.
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Real-World Takeaways from Game 5:
- Offensive rebounding is a soul-crusher. If you allow 20 second-chance points, you are essentially asking for a loss.
- Star power overrides depth in the playoffs. Indiana had a "better" bench, but New York had the best player on the floor in Brunson.
- Defensive versatility. Even without their best defender in Anunoby, the Knicks used McBride to disrupt the Pacers' rhythm early.
The ripple effects of this game were massive. It put New York one win away from the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. It validated the Jalen Brunson signing (not that it needed more validation, but still). And it exposed the Pacers' need for a more physical interior presence to complement Turner.
What to Watch for Next
If you're tracking the evolution of these two rosters, pay attention to the rebounding metrics. The Pacers have clearly prioritized getting tougher since this series. For the Knicks, the lesson remains: they go as far as Brunson’s health and the team’s collective grit will take them.
To really understand the impact of this matchup, look at the upcoming regular-season games between these two. The rivalry is officially back. It’s not just Reggie Miller vs. Spike Lee anymore; it’s a clash of two very different basketball philosophies.
Actionable Insights for Basketball Fans:
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- Analyze the Box Score Differently: Don't just look at points. Look at "Contested Rebound Percentage." In Game 5, the Knicks won this by a landslide.
- Watch the Off-Ball Movement: Re-watch the second quarter of this game. Notice how many screens the Knicks set just to get Brunson a favorable switch against Tyrese Haliburton or Pascal Siakam.
- Study Defensive Rotations: Pay attention to how the Knicks "pre-rotated" to the paint to negate Indiana's speed. It’s a textbook example of how to beat a transition-heavy team.
The 30-point margin of victory in Knicks Pacers Game 5 told one story, but the grit required to get there told another. New York proved that their "Next Man Up" mantra wasn't just a locker room cliché; it was a blueprint for survival.