Category: Basketball

Forsberg: Assessing the merits of a Giannis-to-Celtics trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics have an active offseason ahead as they aim to get under the second apron. Most of the discourse on their potential moves has been about parting ways with key players, but what about adding one of the league’s biggest superstars?

The Milwaukee Bucks could look to jumpstart their rebuild and move on from two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned on Get Up! that “the move for Giannis, if he has the control, is to go to the East.” Windhorst named the Celtics and the New York Knicks as the top options.

Is acquiring Antetokounmpo even a realistic scenario for Boston? NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics insider Chris Forsberg assessed the hypothetical move and came to a firm conclusion:

What would such a move look like?

“If you’re just talking about a 1-for-1 trade, the Boston Celtics can only move Jayson Tatum for Giannis Antetokounmpo based on their salaries, which are the exact same going into next season,” Forsberg said. “That is the only move. The Celtics, because they are a second-apron team, cannot take on more salary, and they cannot aggregate salary. So this is the only legal move they can make while they are a second-apron team.

“The other part of this is, if they get off the second apron, or if they were to do such as part of their maneuvering in any three-team, four-team, five-team (trade) — I don’t know, it’s gonna get complicated. They could technically make this move. … Jaylen Brown would have to be part of the deal, presumably, to make both the money work and to give the Bucks a part that they would be able to build around from there. I don’t like that on the surface, and I know everybody out there on Instagram and YouTube and everything, they don’t like when I bring that up either.”

Why would the Celtics do it?

“Well, it’s Giannis,” Forsberg said. “He’s a former MVP. He’s still got plenty left in the tank. He was third in MVP voting this season, and he would be a difference-maker for your team.”

Why would the Bucks do it?

“The run might just be up in Milwaukee, and they need to figure out what the best return is,” Forsberg said. “Some combination of young talent, picks. But it’s gonna be weird, because Giannis has been the face of their franchise for what feels like so long that they’ve got some hard questions about how to proceed forward.”

Final verdict

“I just don’t see any way that this makes sense for all sides involved, at least without getting just a bunch of different teams, revamping rosters across the NBA,” Forsberg said. “Maybe when it comes to MVP-level players, that’s what you’ve got to think about. But I think we can spend our offseason thinking about stuff that makes a little bit more sense than this one.”

Watch Forsberg’s assessment of a potential Giannis-to-Celtics deal in the video player above.

NBA star Zion Williamson accused of rape in lawsuit originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

A lawsuit was filed against NBA star Zion Williamson on Friday, accusing the New Orleans Pelicans player of raping and physically abusing a woman who claims they dated from 2018 to 2023.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by a woman who will proceed anonymously with the suit as Jane Doe. She accused Williamson, 24, of raping her in his Beverly Hills home in September 2020, and again at an unspecified location in Beverly Hills a month later.

In a statement, Williamson’s attorney, Michael A. Balascio, described the woman’s lawsuit as an “extortion attempt.”

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,” he said. “The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless.”

The NBA and the Pelicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the first incident, the lawsuit alleges, Williamson raped the woman when she tried going to sleep. It states that when she attempted to go to sleep, Williamson called her “stuck up” and “a b****” and told her she could not go to sleep until she had sex with him.

When she refused, Williamson allegedly “pinned Plaintiff down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her,” the lawsuit states.

In the second incident, the lawsuit states, Williamson allegedly raped the woman when she told him that she wanted to go to San Diego to visit a friend. It alleges that Williamson then “picked her up, threw her down to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down,” before assaulting her.

The lawsuit alleges that Williamson took the woman’s phone shortly after both encounters for an unspecified period so that she could not report the assaults.

It alleges that the incidents were not isolated, and that Williamson “continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter” the woman in multiple states, including California, Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.

The lawsuit also alleges that Williamson threatened to pay his security to shoot her “in the head while the security guard was present and carrying a loaded firearm multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023.” Williamson also threatened to have the woman’s parents killed, the lawsuit states.

Williamson currently plays the power forward position for the Pelicans. He was the first overall NBA draft pick in 2019 after playing for the Duke Blue Devils in college.

NBC News’ Austin Mullen contributed.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• They lost Messi, Mbappé and Neymar — but may finally win club soccer’s biggest prize
• Brunson, Towns carry Knicks to 111-94 victory, cutting Pacers’ series lead to 3-2
• Baylor defensive lineman Alex Foster dies at 18

NBA star Zion Williamson accused of rape in lawsuit originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

A lawsuit was filed against NBA star Zion Williamson on Friday, accusing the New Orleans Pelicans player of raping and physically abusing a woman who claims they dated from 2018 to 2023.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by a woman who will proceed anonymously with the suit as Jane Doe. She accused Williamson, 24, of raping her in his Beverly Hills home in September 2020, and again at an unspecified location in Beverly Hills a month later.

In a statement, Williamson’s attorney, Michael A. Balascio, described the woman’s lawsuit as an “extortion attempt.”

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,” he said. “The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless.”

The NBA and the Pelicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the first incident, the lawsuit alleges, Williamson raped the woman when she tried going to sleep. It states that when she attempted to go to sleep, Williamson called her “stuck up” and “a b****” and told her she could not go to sleep until she had sex with him.

When she refused, Williamson allegedly “pinned Plaintiff down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her,” the lawsuit states.

In the second incident, the lawsuit states, Williamson allegedly raped the woman when she told him that she wanted to go to San Diego to visit a friend. It alleges that Williamson then “picked her up, threw her down to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down,” before assaulting her.

The lawsuit alleges that Williamson took the woman’s phone shortly after both encounters for an unspecified period so that she could not report the assaults.

It alleges that the incidents were not isolated, and that Williamson “continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter” the woman in multiple states, including California, Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.

The lawsuit also alleges that Williamson threatened to pay his security to shoot her “in the head while the security guard was present and carrying a loaded firearm multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023.” Williamson also threatened to have the woman’s parents killed, the lawsuit states.

Williamson currently plays the power forward position for the Pelicans. He was the first overall NBA draft pick in 2019 after playing for the Duke Blue Devils in college.

NBC News’ Austin Mullen contributed.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• They lost Messi, Mbappé and Neymar — but may finally win club soccer’s biggest prize
• Brunson, Towns carry Knicks to 111-94 victory, cutting Pacers’ series lead to 3-2
• Baylor defensive lineman Alex Foster dies at 18

Celtics player spotlight: Last chance for Jordan Walsh to earn larger role? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jordan Walsh was the youngest member of the Boston Celtics each of the last two years.

Even though he showed signs of improvement this past season, we’re still waiting for the 2023 second-round pick to have that breakout moment.

Jayson Tatum’s injury and any offseason roster changes that are made could give Walsh more of an opportunity with the Celtics in the fall, but it will be up to him to seize it.

As we continue our “Celtics Player Spotlight” series, let’s recap Walsh’s 2024-25 season and analyze how he fits into Boston’s lineup for 2025-26:

2024-25 Season Recap

After playing in just nine games as a rookie, Walsh appeared in 52 contests in Year 2, including five of Boston’s 11 playoff matchups. He averaged 1.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 7.8 minutes per game.

Walsh scored 10-plus points in two games this season — Dec. 31 against the Raptors and the April 13 season finale versus the Hornets. He also tallied season highs in minutes (21) and rebounds (eight) in that matchup against Charlotte.

Walsh is a good defender with enough length and athleticism to defend multiple positions. He brings great energy to the court, too.

Contract details

Walsh has completed the first two years of his rookie contact. He has a salary cap hit of $2.21 million for the 2025-26 season, per Spotrac. His contract includes a team option for the 2026-27 campaign.

Potential roles for 2025-26

Scenario 1: Walsh improves as an outside shooter, plays larger role

Walsh’s defense is solid, but that alone won’t give him a larger role for the Celtics. They need scoring off the bench, and especially from the wing positions with Tatum potentially missing most or all of next season as he recovers from an Achilles injury.

Walsh has struggled to make an impact offensively with the Celtics. He has shot 36.7 percent from the floor, 26.6 percent on 3-pointers and 57.1 percent from the free throw line over two seasons. It’s not a large sample size and the volume of shot attempts is low, but there hasn’t been much to like from his offensive game so far.

If he improves his 3-point shooting, that should open up more minutes for him next season.

Scenario 2: Walsh doesn’t provide enough offense to justify more meaningful role

If Walsh is unable to stretch the floor as an outside shooter, or if he can’t produce offense in another way, then it’s hard to see how he earns a more prominent role in his third season.

If Walsh is unable to become a 3-and-D wing who can average 10-plus minutes per game, then it’s fair to wonder whether the Celtics will pick up his team option for the 2026-27 season. A wing who is a poor 3-point shooter doesn’t really fit with how the Celtics have played on offense under head coach Joe Mazzulla over the last three seasons.

Final thoughts

With a team option in his contract for 2026-27, the upcoming season might be Walsh’s best (and maybe last?) chance to carve out a consistent role for the Celtics.

His defense is definitely NBA-caliber, but he must make more of an impact offensively.

The Celtics, with an expensive roster as a team in the second apron, need low-cost players to play meaningful roles. Walsh stepping up in Year 3 would benefit Boston tremendously.

Adebayo hilariously revisits lockdown defensive play guarding Steph originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

There aren’t many players in the NBA who can lock down Warriors superstar Steph Curry.

So when Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo stopped Curry during a key play back in a Heat-Warriors game in the 2017-18 season, he still talks about it to this day.

Adebayo recently joined House of Highlights “The Reel” to break down his best highlights, and he detailed what went through his mind as he defended Curry.

“I remember that play, it was my rookie year,” Adebayo recalled. “And if you go back, I was telling Goran [Dragić] to go back to Steph because he was guarding Zaza Pachulia. So I was like, ‘Take Steph.’ And he was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool.’

“And it was just me and [Steph]. And I remember [Kevin Durant] being like, ‘Go at him. Get off.’ And I was like, ‘Nah, I can’t be embarrassed.’ So I got the stop.”

Adebayo applied the pressure on Curry, who pump-faked and dribble-penetrated before almost losing the ball out of bounds. Curry then was forced to pass the ball to Durant.

And even eight years later, Adebayo makes sure to remind Curry of that one play.

“Now I talk s–t to Steph every once in a while,” he said.

Adebayo, who has been an NBA All-Defensive selection five times, said he takes pride in being one of the few players in the league who can guard the one through five positions and, most of all, appreciates the league-wide respect from his peers.

But he should know what a little trash talk does to Curry. Good luck trying to do that again.

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Which offseason path should Celtics take? Here's what fans want to see originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Change is coming to the Boston Celtics this offseason.

That’s the sobering reality for a team that fell to the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA playoffs and lost Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles that could sideline him most (if not all) of the 2025-26 season.

The Celtics are deep into the luxury tax and need to shed at least $20 million in salary this summer to get out of the second apron and avoid punitive penalties that would hamstring them from a roster-building and financial perspective.

Tatum’s injury, while devastating in the short term, could serve as an impetus for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to make changes to a core that’s not getting any younger while better positioning the Celtics for success whenever Tatum returns to the court.

What might those changes look like? This week, our Celtics Insider Chris Forsberg laid out three potential paths that Boston could take this offseason, complete with hypothetical trades and objectives for each scenario. We then asked you to vote on which path you’d prefer, and the results were instructive for how Boston fans view this team’s short- and long-term future.

Below are brief recaps of Forsberg’s three paths, followed by the voting results.

Path No. 1: Threading the Needle

Objectives:

• Get below the second apron by trimming $20-plus million in salary.
• Remain a tax-paying team, but limit the total spend.
• Keep much of the core intact … for now.
• Remain competitive in the East, even with Tatum out indefinitely.
• Identify and develop young, low-cost talent for rotation roles.

Road map:

• Trade Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser with limited financial return.
• Build a frontcourt with limited funds.
• Use draft assets to acquire young, low-cost talent.

Path No. 2: Full Reboot

Objectives:

• Get out of the luxury tax by trimming $40+ million in salary this summer.
• Complete the first of two years outside the luxury tax, with a goal of resetting restrictive repeater penalties.
• Dismantle the current core in favor of younger players and draft assets.
• Endure short-term pains for long-term rewards.

Road map:

• Trade Jaylen Brown and/or Derrick White, along with other core pieces.
• Fill out the roster with low-cost, high-upside talent.
• Allow Jayson Tatum to rehab for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
• Embrace lottery status over playoff contention.

Path No. 3: The ‘Golden State Bridge’

Objectives:

• Maintain much of the core, but understand the bumps ahead.
• Use interest in veteran pieces to generate future assets.

Road map:

• Maintain a core of Tatum, Brown and Derrick White.
• Load manage the stars over the next two seasons and lean into youth.
• Focus on returning to title contention for 2027-28 season.

Now let’s get to the voting results.

Twitter/X poll results

• ‘Golden State Bridge’: 42 percent
• Threading the Needle: 40 percent
• Full Reboot: 18 percent

YouTube poll results

• Threading the Needle: 62 percent
• ‘Golden State Bridge’: 23 percent
• Full Reboot: 16 percent

Not surprisingly, the “full reboot” path — which would involve trading Jaylen Brown and/or Derrick White — was the least popular among fans. Brown is a franchise cornerstone and 2024 NBA Finals MVP who is deeply involved in the Boston community, so it makes sense why fans wouldn’t want to part with him or White (a fan favorite in his own right), even if there’s the potential for long-term gain.

Opinions were somewhat split on the other two paths, but “threading the needle” seemed to be the overall favorite, with the Celtics dealing Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser to get under the second apron while managing to keep the rest of the core intact.

Which path the C’s choose ultimately may come down to the offers they receive on the trade market. But this exercise reinforces the idea that it would be very painful for Boston to completely blow it up this offseason.

NBA star Zion Williamson accused of rape in lawsuit originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

A lawsuit was filed against NBA star Zion Williamson on Friday, accusing the New Orleans Pelicans player of raping and physically abusing a woman who claims they dated from 2018 to 2023.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by a woman who will proceed anonymously with the suit as Jane Doe. She accused Williamson, 24, of raping her in his Beverly Hills home in September 2020, and again at an unspecified location in Beverly Hills a month later.

In a statement, Williamson’s attorney, Michael A. Balascio, described the woman’s lawsuit as an “extortion attempt.”

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and we unequivocally deny them,” he said. “The allegations contained in the complaint are categorically false and reckless.”

The NBA and the Pelicans did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the first incident, the lawsuit alleges, Williamson raped the woman when she tried going to sleep. It states that when she attempted to go to sleep, Williamson called her “stuck up” and “a b****” and told her she could not go to sleep until she had sex with him.

When she refused, Williamson allegedly “pinned Plaintiff down on the bed with her hands behind her back and raped her,” the lawsuit states.

In the second incident, the lawsuit states, Williamson allegedly raped the woman when she told him that she wanted to go to San Diego to visit a friend. It alleges that Williamson then “picked her up, threw her down to the ground, and pinned her shoulders down,” before assaulting her.

The lawsuit alleges that Williamson took the woman’s phone shortly after both encounters for an unspecified period so that she could not report the assaults.

It alleges that the incidents were not isolated, and that Williamson “continued to abuse, rape, assault, and batter” the woman in multiple states, including California, Louisiana and Texas, until the relationship ended in 2023.

The lawsuit also alleges that Williamson threatened to pay his security to shoot her “in the head while the security guard was present and carrying a loaded firearm multiple times in Louisiana between 2020 and 2023.” Williamson also threatened to have the woman’s parents killed, the lawsuit states.

Williamson currently plays the power forward position for the Pelicans. He was the first overall NBA draft pick in 2019 after playing for the Duke Blue Devils in college.

NBC News’ Austin Mullen contributed.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:

• They lost Messi, Mbappé and Neymar — but may finally win club soccer’s biggest prize
• Brunson, Towns carry Knicks to 111-94 victory, cutting Pacers’ series lead to 3-2
• Baylor defensive lineman Alex Foster dies at 18

Behind a stifling defense and huge performances from Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks defeated the Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, forcing Game 6 on Saturday night in Indiana.

Here's how the NYC back pages reacted...

Here's our @nydnsports back page. @nyknicks@nba@apse_sportmedia#pacers#Knickshttps://t.co/9yZbMxmxXCpic.twitter.com/KNTBdT9Glp

— Back Page Guy NYDN (@BackPageGuyNYDN) May 30, 2025

The back page: BRUN' DOWN 2 TO GO

Captain keeps hope alive, but still more work to be done

Read more: https://t.co/Z0UhFGd0yEpic.twitter.com/wAavOriDf6

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 30, 2025

Newsday's Friday Late Back Page

Knicks rout Pacers, force Game 6 Saturday night

Story: https://t.co/zmC711W93Q

PLUS: Isles GM Darche brings back Roy as coach

Story: https://t.co/qG9sApo5Wk

AND: Yanks, Dodgers meet again@APSE_sportmediapic.twitter.com/0sP7D3Yzen

— Joe Manniello (@joe_manniello) May 30, 2025

Will Celtics find a good player with No. 28 pick? What recent history says originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics had the third-best record in the NBA this season, which gave them the No. 28 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on June 24.

The odds of the C’s finding a star player at No. 28 are obviously low. But that doesn’t mean quality players don’t exist in this range. Every year there are usually a couple rotation players to be found in the bottom third of the first round and top third of the second round.

For example, the Celtics got center Robert Williams III at No. 27 in 2019 and guard Payton Pritchard at No. 26 in 2020.

The Celtics have picked at No. 28 once this century. It was in 2015 when they selected R.J. Hunter, who had a very good NCAA Tournament run with Georgia State. Hunter appeared in just 45 career NBA games and hasn’t played since 2019.

What can fans expect with the No. 28 pick? How many of these players contribute a decent amount of minutes and/or produce at a decent level offensively?

Here’s a look at every player taken in this spot since 2000. After this list, we’ll analyze how many of them turned out to be “hits”.

• 2024: Ryan Dunn, Nuggets (traded to Suns)
• 2023: Brice Sensabaugh, Jazz
• 2022: Patrick Baldwin Jr., Warriors
• 2021: Jaden Springer, 76ers
• 2020: Jaden McDaniels, Lakers (traded to Timberwolves)
• 2019: Jordan Poole, Warriors
• 2018: Jacob Evans, Warriors
• 2017: Tony Bradley, Lakers (traded to Jazz)
• 2016: Skal Labissière, Suns
• 2015: R.J. Hunter, Celtics
• 2014: C.J. Wilcox, Clippers
• 2013: Livio Jean-Charles, Spurs
• 2012: Perry Jones, Thunder
• 2011: Norris Cole, Bulls (traded to Heat)
• 2010: Greivis Vásquez, Grizzlies
• 2009: Wayne Ellington, Timberwolves
• 2008: Donte Greene, Grizzlies (traded to Kings)
• 2007: Tiago Splitter, Spurs
• 2006: Maurice Ager, Mavericks
• 2005: Ian Mahinmi, Spurs
• 2004: Beno Udrih, Spurs
• 2003: Leandro Barbosa, Spurs (traded to Suns)
• 2002: Dan Dickau, Kings (traded to Hawks)
• 2001: Tony Parker, Spurs
• 2000: Erick Barkley, Trail Blazers

Tony Parker is easily the best player on this list. He put together a Hall of Fame career with six All-Star appearances, four All-NBA selections and four championships. He was a key piece in the Spurs dynasty.

Jordan Poole played an important role for the 2022 Golden State Warriors team that won the NBA Finals. Jaden McDaniels has become one of the league’s top wing defenders for the Timberwolves, who have reached the Western Conference Finals in back-to-back seasons.

Overall, eight of the last 25 players taken No. 28 overall have averaged 20-plus minutes per game in their careers. Anyone who plays that many minutes per game is a real part of the rotation, and ultimately, that’s what teams are looking for with a pick this late in Round 1. Eleven of the last 25 players selected at No. 28 averaged at least seven points per game in their careers.

Five players selected at No. 28 since 2000 have scored nine or more points per game in their career.

If the Celtics found a player similar to Poole, Parker, Barbosa or McDaniels with the No. 28 pick, that would equal a successful draft for them. They don’t need a star player with this pick, but they need someone who can defend, play multiple positions and provide some offense off the bench.

The Celtics have an expensive roster as a team in the second apron. They are limited in how they can add players to the roster. Therefore, the best and most cost-effective way to bring in talent is through the draft, which makes the 2025 draft so important for team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and his front office staff.

Boston also owns the second pick of the second round (No. 32 overall) in the 2025 NBA Draft, which begins June 25.

Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks life early in Game 5. He hit six of his first eight shots, scoring 14 points in the opening nine minutes. He was even better to start the second half, hitting five of six shots for 16 points in the frame.

His scoring was one of the main reasons the Knicks live to fight another day in these Eastern Conference Finals.

But he couldn’t do it by himself. In those first and third-quarter scoring barrages, Brunson’s fellow starters supported him with strong team defense.

The Knick starting unit outscored the Pacers by 18 in 13 minutes on Thursday.

They held Indiana to 6 of 20 shooting in those 13 minutes with an effective field goal percentage of 37.5.

If the Knicks can get off to a strong start in Game 6 on Saturday and force a Game 7, Tom Thibodeau’s mid-series adjustments will be celebrated.

As it is, Thibodeau’s lineup changes have changed the series.

The new starting unit of Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson was key in Game 5. Thibodeau’s expanded rotation was key in both Knicks’ wins against Indiana.

Landry Shamet and Delon Wright helped stabilize things for the Knicks in the second half of Game 3. They played a similar role in Game 5.

Lineups featuring Shamet, Wright and Towns were a combined +8 on Thursday. Along with Mikal Bridges, Shamet and Wright and the rest of the Knick backcourt seemed to bother Indiana’s top offensive weapons on Thursday. Tyrese Haliburton took just eight shots. Pascal Siakam had, by his standards, a quiet game.

If Game 5 is any indication, Thibodeau may have found something with the new lineup/rotation.

“I thought the aggressiveness of Jalen and KAT to start offensively and then the group being tied together defensively (was significant). Then when the bench came in, they did the same thing,” Thibodeau said after the game.

If the Knicks can do the same things on Saturday, it will give them a good chance to bring the series back to New York for a Game 7.

Jalen Brunson scored 32 points as the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers to keep alive their hopes of reaching the NBA Finals.

Indiana remain one win from clinching the Eastern Conference finals but the Knicks claimed a 111-94 home win to cut their deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Karl-Anthony Towns played through a knee injury to record 24 points and 13 rebounds as the third-seeded Knicks led throughout.

"I looked at the game and it was 'game five, do or die'," Towns said. "That was pretty much all I needed to see."

Bennedict Mathurin registered 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the fourth-seeded Pacers, who host game six on Saturday (01:00 BST, Sunday).

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"We have no room for error," Towns added. "Our backs are against the wall and every game is do or die. If we don't bring that energy or execution, our season will be over."

Towns had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half as New York led 56-45 at half-time, before pushing their advantage to 90-73 heading into the final quarter.

Indiana crept to within 12 points with just over eight minutes remaining, but Josh Hart answered with consecutive baskets and Mikal Bridges hit a jumper to make it an 18-point margin.

Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton had 30 points and 15 assists in game four but was kept to eight points on Thursday, with six assists.

"Rough night for me," said the 25-year-old point guard. "I've got to be better setting the tone and getting downhill. I feel I didn't do a great job of that.

"They picked up the pressure a little bit and applied more as the game went on. Put it on me, I've got to be better in game six."

You'd be hard-pressed to find a team that plays better than the Knicks with their backs against the wall.

Just one loss away from their season coming to an end, the Knicks stepped up with arguably their best game of the Eastern Conference Finals to this point. They outhustled, outdefended and were simply better than the Pacers on Thursday night in their 111-94 win. While a lot of the credit will go to the offense -- Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns did combine to score 56 points -- it was their defense that deserves its flowers.

Including Thursday, the Pacers played 15 games this postseason and Game 5 was the first time they were held under 100 points.

"I thought we came out great defensively," OG Anunoby said after the game. "We were getting stops, flying up and down the floor."

Not only did the Pacers score below 100, they shot just 40.5 percent (33 percent from three) and turned the ball over 20 times. Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers star who has become the face of dismay for Knicks fans, had his worst game of the series. The guard scored just eight points on 2 of 7 shooting after averaging 24 points per game entering Game 5. He was a minus-23 on the court. Pascal Siakam was the only starter to score in double figures, with bench players Obi Toppin (11) and Benedict Mathurin (23) the only others to hit that mark.

So, what changed? Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau didn't say it was just one thing, but praised his team's defense as a whole.

"Sometimes it’s a combination of [Haliburton] missing some shots he normally makes, but our guys were tied together and tried to make him work for everything," he said. "That’s what you have to do. You have to fight to win every possession."

"I feel like we picked up our intensity a little bit. I think we paid attention to detail better as a team," Brunson said of the defense on Haliburton. "The little things go a long way. Paying attention to the minute things, and things that don’t seem like a huge deal, they really do help.”

After Game 4's loss, a lot of the attention was on Brunson and how the Pacers seemingly were targeting him on defense. Forcing the All-Star to foul and exploit his defensive weaknesses.

If that was the Pacers' plan in Game 5, it didn't work, especially when Haliburton had the ball.

"[Brunson] did an amazing job. That's something that cap always does - he answers the call every time," Towns said of Brunson's defense. "We win as a team, we lose as a team. I'm never going to allow cap -- he does so much for us and we ask so much out of him every game -- he’s never going to go out there and take all the blame. We all do. Family and brothers never let someone go out there and take all the blame. We all got to be willing to lose together and win together."

"That's our guy, we know he's going to bring it offensively but I feel like he dug in defensively and had great intensity," Josh Hart said of Brunson.

"He's our leader," Miles McBride said. "When we see he's playing like that, we all just want to do anything we can to get the win."

Haliburton was asked if he was surprised by how the Knicks turned up the ball pressure on him and the team, and the Pacers star said he wasn't and wants to look ahead to Game 6.

"We’re up 3-1, their season was on the line today. I understand they are going to come out and play hard, increase the pressure, do whatever they have to do to win," Haliburton said. "And they did a great job of that and now it’s up to us to respond in Game 6. When you get here to this point, there’s no such thing as surprises... Kudos to them, they played better than us today. We've got to be prepared for Game 6."

The Knicks will look to shut down Haliburton and the Pacers offense again in Game 6 on Saturday night to force a decisive Game 7 back at MSG.

The Knicks kept their season alive by beating the Pacers 111-94 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals as stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the way to force a Game 6 on Saturday back in Indiana.

While the duo combined for 56 points on 22-for-38 shooting and got plenty of cheers from The Garden crowd, guard Landry Shamet also heard his name chanted by Knicks fans on Thursday night, including a standing ovation -- and deservingly so.

Shamet played 14 minutes in Game 5, the most he's played in a playoff game this year, and scored five points to go along with two assists and an offensive rebound. After the win, the 28-year-old gave his appreciation back to the New York fans for their support throughout the must-win game and all season long.

"I love New York. I love these fans. I've seen how they ride the wave with us, the highs, the lows," Shamet said. "It's just important for me to give everything I've got to them. I appreciate it. We got more to do."

"I love New York. I love these fans. I've seen how they ride the wave with us - the highs, the lows. It's just important for me to give everything I've got to them."

Landry Shamet talks about the standing ovation he got tonight: pic.twitter.com/dswhNMm6MA

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 30, 2025

He credited Brunson and Towns for carrying the team and setting the tone offensively, but his defense and energy off the bench pressured the Pacers guards and helped create a couple of turnovers. Overall, the Knicks forced a series-high 20 turnovers against the Pacers in the Game 5 win, as Shamet noted their awareness and energy all night long.

"I think just our intensity, our attention to detail, that's a sense of desperation which is what we needed," Shamet said. "And we're gonna have to go do it again. That was the biggest thing, just our energy. Our communication was great. Did a better job in transition. Still, some other things we got to clean up, we'll get to that tomorrow."

Shamet was asked if they could tell the Pacers were frustrated by the Knicks defense, but said that's not their job. Instead, the team will look to replicate their performance on Saturday in Game 6 to force a Game 7.

"I could sense a competitive game, there's waves like I said," Shamet said. "Our job is not really to pay too much attention to that. We just got to focus on us and do what we can do. We know they're a hard team to guard, play fast. If we take care of what we have to take care of, hopefully we see results like tonight."