Under the pressure of elimination for the first time in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks played the best defensive performance of the entire series and even the entire season. They successfully restricted the Pacers, whose offensive efficiency exceeded 120 points per 100 possessions in 8 of the previous 14 playoff games, and won themselves the opportunity to return to Indiana and at least 48 minutes of survival time.

Although historically, in the best-of-seven series, only 4% of teams that fell behind 1-3 eventually turned the tables, the Knicks have completed the first step. And the trend of this series has proved that any night, either side can win. If the Knicks can do it twice more, they will make it to the finals.

However, the Pacers only need to win one more game. The opportunity lies in Game 6, which will be played at home tomorrow. The following are four focuses worth paying attention to in tomorrow's game to see if Indiana can once again impact the finals and meet the Thunder:

1. Can the Knicks continue their defensive performance?

This series depends almost entirely on the Pacers' offensive performance. In their three wins, they scored 126.1 points per 100 possessions; in their two losses, that number dropped to 101.0 points per 100 possessions. In contrast, the Knicks' offense was much more stable in the five games.

In Game 5, the Pacers scored only 94 points in 97 possessions, which was their worst offensive performance so far in this round of playoffs:

- The Knicks did not force the Pacers to shoot as often as they did in Game 3. According to tracking data, only 19% of the Pacers' shots occurred in the last 7 seconds of the shot clock, which is slightly lower than the average of the first four games.

- The Pacers passed the ball more than any other game in the series. They completed 384 passes per 24 minutes of possession, far higher than the previous high of 335 (Game 4).

The increase in the number of passes may be because they did not gain an effective advantage in their initial tactics.

For example, in one possession midway through the second quarter, Aaron Nesmith set a screen for Tyrese Haliburton and rolled to an open position, but Karl-Anthony Towns rotated in to fill in and wiped out the advantage. Then Jalen Brunson switched to Towns's original defender (Myles Turner), forcing the Pacers to reorganize their offense.

The Knicks put in more effort and made fewer mistakes in this game. Their switching and rotations were very good. Although the Pacers could have performed better on offense, their shooting percentage may also be starting to return to normal - before that, they had the highest effective field goal percentage in playoff history in the first 12 games (up to the second game of this series).

If the Knicks can show this defensive performance again tomorrow - or the Pacers still can't hit the open ball - then we may have a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

2. Can the Pacers limit Brunson and Towns?

In the first four games of this series, the Pacers' offensive efficiency masked a problem: They didn't cause enough trouble on the defensive end. As of Game 5, the Knicks' offensive efficiency reached 117.8 points per 100 possessions, 7.1 points more than the first two rounds - and this was achieved when OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges only made 4 of 24 shots from the corner three-point line (hitting rate 17%).

The biggest problem for the Pacers is how to deal with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The two are the top and second scorers in the series, averaging 58.4 points per game and a true shooting percentage of 64.6%. In contrast, they averaged 49.4 points per game in the first two rounds, with a true shooting percentage of only 57.6%.

In the first four games, Aaron Nesmith's defense against Brunson had some effect, but in Game 5, Brunson made all 5 shots against him. The Knicks' core star was extremely active at the beginning of the game, taking frequent shots both in the opening stage and in the early stages of the offensive rounds.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Nesmith tried to put pressure on Brunson by leading the defense, but Brunson turned this defensive pressure into his advantage:

Game 5 was also the first time in this series that Pascal Siakam, rather than Myles Turner, was more responsible for defending Towns. Although the defensive effect of both players on Towns was not ideal, facing Siakam made Towns play more dominant. This also partially explains why the Knicks beat the Pacers by 26 points in the paint area with a score of 60 to 34.

The Pacers had some success in double-teaming Brunson or Towns, but according to tracking data, in Game 5, the Knicks scored a total of 29 points in 19 rounds when these two were double-teamed, averaging 1.53 points per chance, which was a significant effect.

3. The battle of shot counts is always important

In the first four games, the two sides played relatively evenly in terms of shot counts: the Pacers made fewer turnovers, while the Knicks had an advantage in offensive rebounds. Before G5, the Pacers had a slight advantage in shooting opportunities (number of shots + number of free throws) between the two teams with +4.

But in G5, the Knicks had 12 more shooting opportunities than the Pacers, which was the best performance of the Knicks in this round of playoffs in this data. Not only did they win the rebounding battle again, but this was the first time in the series that they had fewer turnovers than the Pacers.

The bigger gap still appeared on the Pacers' offensive end. They had 20 turnovers in this game, the highest value in the playoffs, which directly helped the Knicks score 24 fast break points, which was also the highest single-game score for the Knicks in this series.

Although the Pacers created higher-quality shooting opportunities in four of the five games, if they fell behind in shooting opportunities as much as in G5, the quality could not make up for the difference in quantity. Controlling the number of shots is crucial. For both teams, protecting the ball and fighting for rebounds are the keys to winning.

4. Is home advantage still critical?

The Pacers have won two of three games in New York, and even beat the Knicks in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden last year. Therefore, even if they lose Game 6 at home, it does not necessarily mean a complete loss - after all, any game in this series can be won by either side, and in the past 14 Game 7s, the visiting team has won 9 of them.

But for the Pacers, tomorrow's battle at home is undoubtedly the most ideal result. They have not suffered a losing streak since March 10, and they will not want this record to be broken on the most important stage of most of the team's players' careers so far. Another loss will not only give the Knicks a chance to survive, but may also boost their confidence.

The Knicks also have a 6-2 record on the road in the playoffs, the same as the Pacers, although they perform better at home from a statistical point of view. All six away wins were won by a difference of 6 points or less, and the defense was extremely tough in the key moments - in the six games, they only allowed their opponents to score 46 points in 59 key ball rounds, an average of only 0.78 points per round.

Tomorrow's G6 is likely to be another fierce battle to hit the key ball. Every attack and every round may determine the outcome.

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