NEW YORK: Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 56 points as the New York Knicks kept their NBA playoff campaign alive with a 111-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

Trailing 3-1 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks roared back to life in front of a star-studded Madison Square Garden crowd with a wire-to-wire win that sets up a Game 6 in Indianapolis on Saturday.

Knicks talisman Brunson was once again the standout performer for New York, finishing with 32 points including four three-pointers.

Towns, whose presence in the New York lineup was only confirmed shortly before tip-off following a left knee injury in Game 4, was also a pivotal figure with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

“We were just able to get stops early and we would convert. We just found a way,” Brunson told TNT television.

“I just felt like we played better. We played to our standards. Give them credit for the way they played, but we played Knicks basketball tonight.”

Towns said there was never any chance of him not lining up.

“It was do or die – nothing was going to stop me from playing this game,” Towns said.

Brunson set the tone from the get-go, rattling in 14 points as the Knicks sprinted into an early 23-13 lead in the first quarter.

Although Indiana came back to cut the lead to 27-23 at the end of the first, the Knicks continued to control possession, unsettling Indiana with the speed of their fast break offense and neutralizing Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.

New York led 56-45 at half time with Haliburton scoring just four points in the first half. Haliburton would go on to finish with a series-low eight points, shooting just two-of-seven from the field.

The Pacers had staged an epic comeback to take the opening game of the series in New York last week, overturning a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Knicks.

There was a hint that another fightback might be in the offing when Indiana slashed a 20-point New York lead to just 10 points in the third quarter.

But the Knicks regrouped and stretched their lead once more before closing out the win to keep the series alive.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle blamed his team’s failure to threaten the Knicks – it was the first time in the series Indiana had been restricted to less than 100 points – on their sluggish start.

“We didn’t play with the level of force that we needed to,” Carlisle said. “We lost the rebound battle, we lost the turnover battle and we didn’t shoot well.

“They had a lot to do with that, so give them credit, but we’re going to have to play much better.

“To start the game we didn’t have the right level of attitude necessary in this environment. It was a bad start. We never had a lead in the game. There were a multitude of things that were going wrong.

“There were little stretches where we got traction, but it was never enough.”

SAO PAULO: Marta is back.

The six-time world player of the year has returned to Brazil’s national team for friendlies against Japan on Friday and Monday in Sao Paulo. While it remains to be seen whether she’ll play, her inclusion on the roster suggests she may not be ready to retire just yet.

The 39-year-old announced last year that she would step down from the national team following the Paris Olympics. The Brazilians went on to win the silver medal after a 1-0 loss in the final to the US.

She has continued to play for her club team, the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League. Last season, Marta scored 11 goals with the Pride, who won the NWSL title. She re-signed with the team through 2026 earlier this year.

“Marta has had a great season and has been very important for her club, which is the league champion,” Brazil coach Arthur Elias told reporters when he announced the roster. “Her presence in some callups is very important for the younger players, for the renewal that is taking place in the national team.”

The matches against Japan are important for Brazil to prepare for the Copa America, which opens in July in Ecuador. Brazil are the defending champion.

“She’s a very important person for our group, for the other girls who are just arriving. I’ve already told her to retire when she’s about 45, around there. As long as she’s well, I’ll be encouraging her to continue with us,” Brazil defender Tarciane said in a press conference ahead of the matches against Japan. “And there’s no way we can be without Marta. I can’t see the national team now without Marta, because we need her, we need everything she’s experienced in women’s football, and she needs to live this moment too.”

Marta has played in 185 matches for Brazil. In her last, in the Olympic final, she was emotional as she came off the field. She insisted her tears were not because of the loss or her retirement, but because of pride for having medaled.

“I am crying out of gratitude, happiness. I am not crying because we won silver. Look at how much we had to overcome to win this silver,” she said.

Better known just by her first name, Marta Vieira da Silva has scored a record 119 goals for Brazil.

She was just 17 when she appeared at the 2003 World Cup, held in the US. She has the career record for most World Cup goals with 17, and she has 13 Olympic goals, one shy of compatriot Cristiane’s record.

Brazil is hosting the 2027 Women’s World Cup, leading to some speculation that she might try to play in the game’s biggest tournament on home soil. She has said in the past that she’s willing to help Brazil in any way possible.

“Having this opportunity to share a dressing room with Marta, not only for the national team but also for the club, is a privilege,” midfielder Angelina said after training on Wednesday. “You never imagine that you will be sharing a dressing room with your idol.”