Jalen Brunson, Knicks earn trip back to Indiana for Game 6

Jalen Brunson scored 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and the New York Knicks staved off elimination with a convincing 111-94 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night.Karl-Anthony Towns played through a left knee injury to record 24 points and 13 rebounds as the third-seeded Knicks led wire to wire while cutting their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.Bennedict Mathurin registered 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the fourth-seeded Pacers. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, and reserve Obi Toppin added 11.Game 6 is Saturday night in Indianapolis.Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton was largely silent, finishing with eight points, on 2-of-7 shooting, and six assists. Two nights earlier, he had 30 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and zero turnovers in a stellar Game 4 effort.The Knicks shot 49.4 percent from the field in Game 5, including 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) from 3-point range. Josh Hart had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Mikal Bridges also scored 12 points, and OG Anunoby had 11 points.Indiana connected on 40.5 percent of its shots and was 10 of 30 from behind the arc while committing 19 turnovers.The Knicks led by 11 at halftime but pushed the edge to 72-52 on two free throws by Anunoby with 6:32 remaining in the third quarter.Indiana displayed life with a 12-2 run to move within 74-64 on two foul shots by Mathurin with 4:09 left in the period.