Jalen Brunson drops 43 points as Knicks rally past Pacers in Game 1 of Eastern Conference semifinal
The raucous sound that had shaken Madison Square Garden had been silenced, replaced by a nervous buzz as the final minutes began to wear down Monday night in Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinal.
Trailing the Indiana Pacers for much of the game, the Knicks had come back to take a one-point lead in the final minute but were fumbling it away.
But coach Tom Thibodeau has preached doing the little things all season long. And with 12.7 seconds left, Donte DiVincenzo, with five fouls, collided with Myles Turner, drawing an offensive foul as Turner set a screen.
Jalen Brunson then drew a foul before the ball was inbounded. He converted the free throw, and with the Knicks getting the ball, he was fouled again. He added two free throws with 10.7 seconds left to secure a 121-117 win, allowing the Knicks and the 19,812 fans to exhale.
“I was gonna say [the heck with it],’’ DiVincenzo said. “But that’s kinda my mentality is just try to get a stop. I’m gonna continue to fight through ball screens, continue to fight through dribble handoffs. You live with the results and the physicality. Today, they challenged it. They reviewed it. It was the right call. It was a good play.”
The Knicks needed a little luck, too, as Brunson’s pass with 52.1 seconds left was deflected and the Pacers came up with the ball. It was ruled a kick ball on the floor and not reviewable, although a pool report with crew chief Zach Zarba confirmed it should have been Indiana ball. Instead, the Knicks kept the ball and DiVincenzo hit a three-pointer with 40 seconds left for a 118-115 lead.
“I think it’s best when the players decide the outcome of the game,” Turner said. “I think we’re all looking forward to the Last 2 Minute Report coming out . . . . The kick ball by Aaron Nesmith was not a kick ball. You clearly see on replay.”
However they escaped, the Knicks were happy to take it.
“The big thing I thought was the fourth quarter, we made some hustle plays and made some big shots off those hustle plays,” Thibodeau said. “Whatever we have to do at the end, find a way to win. Whether it’s taking a charge, diving on the floor, coming up with a loose ball. Getting a deflection, getting a blocked shot, pushing it up the floor.
“It was a choppy game for us. I just think the way they work, they’ve invested a lot in this and they put a lot into each and every day. When you make that commitment to each other, you’re not going to give in. You’re going to keep fighting.”
The Knicks were able to survive thanks not just to the little things but to the continued output of Brunson, who scored 21 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter and became the first player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and at least five assists in four straight playoff games (he had 39 points and 13 assists in the game before that streak began).
“He’s the engine,” Hart said. “We’re going to go as far as he goes.”
When the names of players who have matched some of his accomplishments — at least 30 points and five assists in five straight playoff games, a feat done only by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Oscar Robertson and LeBron James — he said, “Very honored to be part of that group, but [means] nothing right now.”
He got huge help from Hart with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists while playing all 48 minutes. DiVincenzo had 25 points, 21 in the second half. The Knicks had to survive a balanced Indiana attack even while holding Tyrese Haliburton to six points.
“We just find a way,” Brunson said. “No matter what it is. We just give each other confidence to make sure we can get the job done.”
“It wasn’t a good win for us,” Hart said. “But a win’s a win, and we’d always rather learn off a win than a loss. You’re going to take the win every single time.”
Indiana closed the third quarter with a flurry. This time, it was former Knick Obi Toppin with a throwback to something he did in blowouts and dunk contests — taking a turnover by Brunson, breaking downcourt, going between his legs in the air and windmilling in a dunk for an 84-77 lead with 43.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
DiVincenzo’s three-pointer and fast-break basket on a feed ahead from Hart closed the gap to two. But Turner beat the buzzer with a three-pointer and the Pacers took an 87-82 lead into the fourth quarter.
Down by nine, the Knicks inched back within one when Hart scored on a tough layup, drew a foul, missed the free throw, grabbed the rebound and put it in. Hart then was fouled on an offensive rebound with 5:02 remaining, making one of two from the line.
The Knicks kept taking one step forward and another back and still trailed by five with just over four minutes remaining.
But Brunson delivered a three-point field goal, and after OG Anunoby reached in to pluck a steal from Haliburton, Brunson drew a foul on the other end and converted both free throws to tie the score at 109 with 3:29 remaining. Anunoby grabbed another steal, this time taking it the other way himself for a fast-break dunk and the lead.
And now it was Brunson’s time — draining a foul-line jumper to up the lead to four with 2:42 to play. The Pacers scored four straight to tie the score with 2:10 left.
Brunson drew a foul again, but a coach’s challenge reversed the call, giving Indiana the ball, and Andrew Nembhard scored to give Indiana the lead. But Brunson tied it at 115 with a short jumper.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
