Brunson’s 44 points gave the Knicks a 121-91 victory over the Pacers, while MVP Jokic led the Nuggets to victory against the Timberwolves in Game 5.
The New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets each took 3-2 leads by winning their home games in the Eastern and Western Conference semifinal series.
Jalen Brunson scored 44 points for the host Knicks, who beat the Indiana Pacers 121-91 in Game 5 at star-studded Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
The Knicks, who lost Games 3 and 4 in Indianapolis, now hold a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. New York will try to clinch a spot in the Eastern Conference finals with a road victory in Game 6 on Friday.
Brunson, who scored at least 40 points for the fifth time in 11 playoff games this spring, added seven assists and four rebounds in 43 minutes.
Josh Hart had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 17 rebounds. Hartenstein’s 12 offensive boards tied a franchise playoff record set by Charles Oakley against the Chicago Bulls on May 15, 1994.
Alec Burks had 18 points coming off the bench while Miles McBride scored 17 points for the Knicks.
“To me, that’s the hallmark of the team,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of New York’s high energy level.
“We’ve been shorthanded all year and that’s the way we do things. We have to play hard on every possession and we have to continue to do so. So we have to do this for 48 minutes.
“And we know if we defend and rebound, take care of the ball, we’ll have a good chance of winning.”
Jalen Brunson recorded his fifth 40-plus point game in the playoffs, the second-most 40-plus point games in a single playoff series in Knicks playoff history. He follows Bernard King (6 – 1984).
-NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) May 15, 2024
‘Joker’ MVP shines for Nuggets
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic celebrated his third MVP trophy by scoring 40 points and dishing out 13 assists as the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-97 in the Western Conference semifinals.
Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 points each for Denver, which leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 after losing the first two at home.
Game 6 will take place Thursday evening in Minneapolis.
Jokic received his MVP trophy from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver before the announcement, then scored 12 points in the first quarter and seven in the second to give Denver a 50-44 halftime lead.
40 points.
13 assists.
7 rebounds.
0 turnovers.THE #KiaMVP lead the charge for @nuggets to take a 3-2 lead in the series ‼️ pic.twitter.com/CxAIVr86ot
-NBA (@NBA) May 15, 2024
Edwards attempted just eight shots in the first half, hitting just one, and he didn’t make a shot through the first seven minutes of the third quarter. After the Nuggets took a 76-63 lead, he got aggressive, hitting a layup and converting a three-point play to quickly cut the deficit to eight points.
Jokic took over for the rest of the quarter, sinking a hook shot, converting two three-point plays and making two more free throws to put Denver ahead 88-74 heading into the fourth.
Jokic finished third with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Minnesota made one last effort to get within 101-90, but Murray made three shots in the final minutes to seal the victory.
Christian Braun scored 10 points off the bench for Denver.
