Pacers remain confident despite Game 5 dud vs. Knicks: ‘We just weren’t us’

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NEW YORK — With a chance to clinch their first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years, the Indiana Pacers couldn’t meet the moment at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. And they looked listless in the process.

How bad was it? After three quarters, the Pacers’ starters had 29 combined points. New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson had 30.

From the start of the game, the Knicks rolled and led by as many as 22. Indiana could not claw back during a horrible shooting night and lost Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals 111-94, sending the series back to Indianapolis for Game 6 on Saturday. It was the Pacers’ first loss in a Game 5 in these playoffs.

“We just weren’t us,” Indiana guard Bennedict Mathurin said. “We weren’t the Pacers. We didn’t play with force. We weren’t relentless. I think that’s the one thing that we were missing tonight. And I think that we got to step it up for next game, because it’s Game 6, and we got to close it.”

The Knicks outrebounded the Pacers (45-40), and Indiana turned the ball over 20 times, the most turnovers it has had this postseason. New York also dominated the paint, scoring more than half of its points (60) inside while nearly doubling Indiana’s paint production (34). The Pacers shot 40.5 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3 in their worst shooting performance in this year’s playoffs.

The Pacers won their previous two series, against the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, in five games. But in Game 5 at MSG, as the New York crowd chanted “Knicks in seven!” every Indiana starter but one, Andrew Nembhard, sat on the bench in the final seconds of the fourth.

The Pacers’ reserves kept them in the game, contributing 57 points, but they couldn’t make up for the deficit of the struggling starters. Mathurin was Indiana’s leading scorer with 23, matching his career playoff high from Game 3 against the Cavs.

Bennedict Mathurin in Game 5. pic.twitter.com/oXuzkdQ4o9

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 30, 2025

While Mathurin was a bright spot, Indiana’s starters didn’t have it. After a historic performance in Game 4, Tyrese Haliburton was limited to eight points and six assists. Indiana is 3-10 this season when Haliburton scores fewer than 10 points.

“Rough night for me,” Haliburton said. “I got to be better (at) setting the tone, getting downhill. I feel like I didn’t do a great job of that, but I’ll watch the film. There were some different things they did defensively, but for the most part, I think their base stuff was the same. They picked up the pressure a little bit more and tried to apply more as the game went on. I got to be better, and I’ll be better in Game 6, but I’ll watch the film and learn from it like I always try to do.”

Haliburton also credited the Knicks’ defense, which never let the Pacers find their rhythm, for capitalizing on Indiana’s shortcomings.

“We weren’t great as a group,” he said. “I thought we lost the margin battle today. They did a better job in the margins. We turned the ball over too much, didn’t rebound to our ability like we have shown this series. And when you do those two things against these guys in a game that comes down to so many possessions, it’s tough stuff.”

In the third quarter, Indiana pulled to within 10. But New York responded with a run of its own to keep the Pacers at bay. Indiana never seemed to find its flow on either end and, despite offensive spurts, never could get fully organized.

“To start the game, we just didn’t have the right level of force, the right level of attitude necessary, in this environment,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “It was a bad start. We never had a lead in the game. There were a multitude of things that were going wrong. And there were times, there were stretches during the game where we got a little bit of traction, but never enough.”

Pascal Siakam, the only Pacers starter to score in double figures, had a quiet night with 15 points and six rebounds. Indiana starters totaled just 37 points.

“We didn’t play with an aggression like we’re used to,” Mathurin said. “We have to play with the edge from the start of the game, and I think that we didn’t have that tonight. But I’m very, very confident that we’ll be back for next game. Everybody’s going to be ready to play and give it their all.”

Indiana hasn’t lost back-to-back games since March. The Pacers will need to find energy as well as answers for the New York defense in Game 6. With their backs against the wall, the Knicks’ stars “fought harder” than the Pacers, Siakam said.

“We’ve been a resilient team all year,” he said. “We’ve shown so far that we can fight. We can bounce back against a really good team. We beat them at home, and they came back, on their home floor, and they executed well. They played better than us.”

The pressure is on Indiana to win at home and avoid a Game 7 on the road. The Knicks have the momentum going into Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

But Haliburton appeared unrattled after the game, even smiling as he exited the court.

“We always want to respond when things don’t go well,” Haliburton said. “After a game like that, we understand what the stakes are, and we understand (what) the conversation will be around our group. But we’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything. It’s a tough loss. Everybody’s addicted to film study and figuring out where we get better. Coach Carlisle is a savant at that stuff. After a game like that, I know he’s gonna be all over the film. I’m gonna be all over the film.”

Siakam agreed, sounding confident in the Pacers’ ability to turn it back on in Game 6.

“We’ve been, all year, just an amazing team,” Siakam said. “Our strength has been just being together, fighting hard together, staying together no matter what. Nobody had us being here right now. We’re up 3-2 in the conference finals. It’s amazing, and I’m so proud of my team, just how hard we’ve been playing all season. This is the NBA; there’s going to be times where a team is going to play hard. They’re going to be going to beat you, and that happened.”

Only 13 teams in NBA history have come back after falling into a 3-1 hole. The Pacers will have to answer whether the Knicks have figured them out or if Thursday was just a bad night.

“It’s a long series, man. It’s a long series until there’s a winner,” Mathurin said. “Our focus shouldn’t be, we’re gonna play in the finals. We got to beat the Knicks first. We have a good chance of closing everything at home. And I think everybody has the right mindset to come to the game, show up and play as hard as we can.”

(Photo: Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images)

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