On May 15, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA playoffs continued. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the New York Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers. The first 4 games between the two sides were 2-2, and this game is a very critical battle for Tianwang Mountain, whoever wins will be the first to get the match point! In this series, the Knicks took the lead in winning 2 games at home, but the hidden danger of overusing core players broke out on the road trip, and players such as Brunson, Hart, and DiVincenzo had physical problems. Brunson dropped from an average of 42.8 points per game in the first four games to 24.3 points, which can be described as a cliff-like decline, and "Iron Man" Hart only got 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Back to Madison in this game, the Knicks have only one goal, to win the battle of Tianwang Mountain and take the lead!
In the first quarter, the Pacers took the lead in entering the state, and the inside and outside made a wave of offensive efforts to stretch the score to 16-9; After personnel and tactical adjustments, the Knicks returned a wave of 22-9 attacks, which overtook the score in one fell swoop and stopped the Pacers; In this wave of chasing points, McBride played the role of a surprise soldier, scoring 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting, disrupting the Pacers' defensive deployment and giving Brunson more space. After hitting the iron continuously in the opening stage, Brunson also found his senses, frequently hitting the inside to create opportunities, scoring 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting; The Pacers had a good feel from the outside, shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-15 from the inside. At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks led by six points at 38-32;
In the second quarter, the smell of gunpowder between the two teams gradually increased, and the intensity of the confrontation escalated. Brunson and DiVincenzo scored four points in a row, and the difference stretched to double digits; Nembhard hit the Pacers' first field goal of the quarter with an arrow from the outside; Brunson made 3 fouls and 3 free throws from the outside, Turner hit a jumper, and Brunson responded with a 3-point quick shot, directly stopping the Pacers! This timeout also worked, and after returning, the Pacers chased four points in a row to narrow the difference; At the critical moment, the Knicks returned a wave of 5-0, and the difference came to 18 points! At halftime, the Knicks led by 15 points at 69-54; In this quarter, Brunson was full of firepower, scoring 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and scoring 28 points at halftime, and this momentum went straight to 40+!
Yibian fought again, Turner hit 3 3-pointers in a row to lead the team to chase the score, and the difference came to 7 points, directly stopping the Knicks! After the pause, DiVincenzo broke through and scored a throw, after which the two teams continued to play iron, and there were no sports battle scores for nearly 2 and a half minutes! At the critical moment, McBride and Brunson scored 3 points in a row, and the difference came to 16 points again, which also stopped the Pacers; After the timeout, the Knicks' offense continued, Brunson and DiVincenzo scored 4 points in a row, and the difference came to 22 points! Skirmishes erupted again, with both Turner and DiVincenzo both awarded technical fouls and both were subsequently substituted. The Pacers didn't score a point for nearly seven minutes, and the Knicks continued to stretch the margin to 25 points; The real-time win rate shows that the Knicks have a whopping 99.3% win rate! At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks led by 21 points at 96-75;
In the final quarter, Sika broke through the layup to make it 2+1, and then the Pacers continued to play a wave of small climaxes, Sika broke through the basket and hit again, and the difference came to 13 points! At the critical moment, Brunson led the team to return a wave of 10-0, and the difference was once stretched to 31 points! In the end, the Pacers were unable to reverse such a big disadvantage, and the score was fixed at 121-91, and the big score came to 3-2. According to NBA statistics, the team that wins the battle of Tianwang Mountain has an 82% chance of winning the series, and the situation is undoubtedly very favorable for the Knicks!
Statistics:
Brunson scored 44 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists again, Hart 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, McBride 17 points, 1 board and 4 assists, DiVincenzo 8 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, Hatten performed very well in the rebounding link, winning a lot of secondary offensive opportunities for the team, scoring 7 points, 17 boards, 5 assists and 1 block, and Burks 18 points and 4 boards;
On the Pacers' side, Sika had 22 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, Turner had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Haliburton had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Nembhard had 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block, Nesmith had 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Toppin had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and McConaughey had 7 points and 5 assists.