Jalen Brunson starred in Game 5 for the New York Knicks as he scored 44 points on 51.4% shooting from the field. His brilliance helped the team in Orange and Blue to grab a dominant 121-91 win on the night, Tom Thibodeau’s men are now one win closer to sealing their place in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite injuries to their key player OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks showed great determination in front of their home fans at the Garden.
The standout stat from the game was the disparity in rebounds between the two teams. New York grabbed 53 boards, while the Pacers only managed 29 in the game. 20 of the Knicks’ rebounds were on the offensive end, while Indiana managed only 5. Isaiah Hartenstein was the reason behind the Knicks’ success on the glass. He had 17 rebounds in the game, and 12 came on the offensive end. This gave his team a few extra possessions, which they made the most of and secured a win.
Indiana showed no intent to win. Their star player Tyrese Haliburton scored only 13 points on 9 shots, which indicates how poor they were on the night. Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner made their presence felt as they combined for 38 points in Game 5. The Pacers will need a better response in the next game as another loss would lead to their exit from the playoffs. New York are missing a few of their key players, the Pacers need to take advantage of that and impose their will in Game 6 at home.
Jalen Brunson is a gift that keeps on giving
Jalen Brunson has outdone all the expectations people had from him in this season’s playoffs. He has averaged 33.9 PPG on 45.1% shooting in 11 postseason games. Riding on his brilliance the Knicks are now on the cusp of making it to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. His 44-point performance made him only the fourth guard in NBA history with 40+ points in five or more games in a single postseason run.
His ability to make tough shots and come up big in clutch moments has helped the Knicks in some tough situations. Jalen Brunson has also looked good on the defensive end and despite his lack of size, he has been able to do good work against relatively bigger guards.
Brunson’s leadership has fueled the Knicks to be a competitive team this season. Despite the injuries they are faced with, the team from New York have proven their resilience time and again. They are playing without their three starters, but that has not stopped them from playing great basketball. Jalen Brunson has played a huge part in this, but without the likes of Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks would not be able to compete as they have so far. They will be hoping to continue their brilliance in Game 6 and wrap up the series as this will give them some time to rest before the start of the Conference Finals.
