In a life-and-death game in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 32 points and led the New York Knicks to a 111-94 home win over the Indiana Pacers, narrowing the series score to 2-3 and keeping their hopes of advancing to the finals.

The Pacers still only needed to win one more game to advance, but they were at a disadvantage from the start and failed to withstand the Knicks' strong rebound.

In this game, another core player of the Knicks, Karl-Anthony Towns, insisted on playing despite an injury, scored 24 points and 13 rebounds, and contributed a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, helping the team lead 56-45 into the halftime break.

Towns said after the game: "As soon as I looked at the schedule, I knew it was G5. If we lose, we go home. That's all the information I need to see."

"We have no way out. Every game is a life-or-death battle. If we don't go out there with a full-fledged mentality and execution, our season will be over."

The Knicks took the initiative from the start and widened the gap to 17 points (90-73) after three quarters. Although the Pacers narrowed the gap to 12 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Josh Hart scored four points and Mikal Bridges made a jump shot to widen the gap to 18 points again, completely extinguishing the opponent's counterattack momentum.

Indiana's core player Tyrese Haliburton, who performed brilliantly in the last game, struggled in this game, scoring only 8 points and 6 assists, far less than the 30 points and 15 assists he scored in Game 4.

After the game, he admitted: "It was a difficult night for me. I didn't set the pace in the offensive organization and breakthrough end, and I need to take responsibility."

"Their defense put more pressure and played tighter and tighter. I have to play better in Game 6."