Knicks Seek To Prolong Their Best Season In 25 Years

Entering Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday night, the New York Knicks listed Karl-Anthony Towns as questionable, a major issue considering a loss would end the team’s season. The 7-foot All-Star, who sustained a left knee injury in the previous game, didn’t participate in his normal pregame shooting routine, either. Still, after helping the Knicks defeat the Indiana Pacers 111-94 to cut their deficit to three games to two, Towns said he knew all along he would play.

“I looked at the game and it said Game 5, do or die,” Towns said. “That was pretty much all I needed to see.”

Now, Towns and the Knicks will have another chance to prolong their season and pursue the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973. On Saturday night, the Knicks play the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Pacers are looking to advance to their first NBA Finals since 2000, while the Knicks haven’t played in the Finals since 1999.

The Knicks are seeking to become just the 14th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win a 7-game series. The franchise is 0-14 all-time when falling behind 3-1 and has forced a Game 7 only twice in those scenarios: in the 1951 NBA Finals to the Rochester Royals and in the 1995 conference semifinals to the Pacers.

Back then, the Knicks defeated the Pacers 96-95 in Game 5 when star center Patrick Ewing made a game-winning jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining to keep the Knicks’ season alive. Thirty years later, Ewing was back for another Game 5 at Madison Square Garden Thursday night as a spectator. This time, the Knicks didn’t need any Game 5 heroics as they dominated from the start and never trailed.

Point guard Jalen Brunson scored the game’s first six points and scored 16 in the first quarter. Towns had 12 points and seven rebounds in the second quarter alone, giving the Knicks a 56-45 lead at halftime. The Knicks then led by double digits throughout the second half, a welcome respite for the home fans who had seen the team lose the first two games at Madison Square Garden, including blowing an eight-point lead with less than 40 seconds remaining in Game 1.

Brunson finished with a game-high 32 points on 12 of 18 shooting and added 5 assists. He is averaging 30.1 points and 7 assists per game in the playoffs, including 33 points and 5.4 assists in the Pacers series. With Thursday’s performance, he joined Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the only players in NBA history with at least 30 points and 5 assists in 10 playoff games in one season.

Towns, meanwhile, had 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Despite his knee injury, he was aggressive on offense, a change from many other games when he settled for long jumpers and 3’s. On Thursday, seven of his 10 field goals were layups, while the others were a dunk, a driving 4-foot floater and a 3.

Towns, though, admitted afterwards that he needs to do a better job of not committing fouls. During an interview with TNT’s Inside the NBA program, Charles Barkley asked why Towns committed “dumb fouls,” while Shaquille O’Neal said he was going to ask the same question.

“God only knows,” Towns replied.

He added: “I’ve got to do a much better job of that…You ain’t wrong. That hurts our team.”

On Thursday, Towns was called for his fourth foul midway through the quarter, sending him to the bench with the Knicks up by 20 points. The Pacers then went on a 12-2 run to cut their deficit to 74-64 before Knicks forward Precious Achiuwa entered the game to replace center Mitchell Robinson, whom the Pacers had intentionally fouled the previous possession due to Robinson’s poor free throw shooting.

Even with Towns and Robinson off the court, the Knicks extended their lead, thanks in part to Achiuwa, who had a floater and steal and played strong defense as New York ended the third quarter ahead 90-73.

It was only the second time Achiuwa played this series, but Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is becoming more comfortable with his reserves. For the past three games, the Knicks have inserted Robinson in the starting lineup, replacing Josh Hart, who averaged more than 37 minutes per game in the regular season and started all 77 regular season games he dressed for and the team’s first 14 playoff games.

Hart on Thursday had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes, while three other reserves (Miles McBride, Landry Shamet and Delon Wright) each played more than 10 minutes. Wright missed all four of his shots, but he had three assists, no turnovers and a steal in 10 minutes and 13 seconds. Wright also played 13:20 and 9:04 in Games 3 and 4, respectively, but he had only appeared in two of the Knicks’ first 14 playoff games for a total of 3:32 without having a field goal attempt, rebound or assist.

McBride, who along with Robinson were the only two bench players to have much of a role in the previous two series, had 5 points Thursday in 18:14, while Shamet scored 5 points in 14:14, the most time he has seen all playoffs. During the fourth quarter, the MSG crowd even shouted Shamet’s name, showing their appreciation for the little-used player.

“I think everyone on the team is just continuously ready for their moment,” Towns said. “Even the guys who don’t play and that haven’t gotten a minute in these last two games, what they bring to our bench and the life they bring to our team can’t be understated. It can’t be undervalued. One through 15, everybody’s doing an amazing job wanting to win and being there for each other. This team’s special.”

Towns added that the Knicks “haven’t been able to close out games the way we wanted to,” but that changed on Thursday when they excelled on both ends of the floor. The Pacers scored fewer than 100 points for the first time this postseason, made a playoffs-low 40.5% of their shots and had 20 turnovers, including 14 in the second half.

Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who had 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and no turnovers in Indiana’s 130-121 Game 4 victory, scored only 8 points on 2 of 7 shooting. Forward Aaron Nesmith, who had 30 points and made 8 3’s in Game 1, had 3 points on 1 of 8 field goals and only played 15:52 as he was limited with a right ankle sprain.

“We didn’t play with the level of force that we needed to,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We lost the rebound battle, we lost the turnover battle, we didn’t shoot well. They had a lot to do with it, so give them credit. We’re going to have to play much better.”

The loss snapped Indiana’s six-game road winning streak in the playoffs and extended the tight series. While the Knicks won by 17 on Thursday, the first three games were decided by six points or fewer while the Knicks were within six points with less than three minutes remaining in Game 4 before the Pacers took control.

The Knicks are facing long odds even though they have outscored the Pacers by a total of six points in the first five games. No team has ever lost the first two games at home in the conference finals and won the series. Still, the Knicks have won six of their eight road playoff games and are determined to get back to MSG for Game 7 Monday night, continuing their memorable season and playoff run.