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Brunson missed the final 15:32 of the first
half with a right foot injury. The Knicks led 24-17 when Brunson
exited, but they entered the second half down 73-63.
Brunson drew a standing ovation from the sellout crowd at
Madison Square Garden after leading the Knicks out for warmups
prior to the third quarter. He played all 24 second-half minutes
and had 24 of his team-high 29 points -- along with four
assists, two steals and one rebound -- over the final two
quarters as New York outscored the Pacers 67-48.
"Lot of toughness," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Brunson.
"That's sort of, I think, the makeup -- we know that's his
makeup, but that's also the makeup of our team.
"The mental-toughness piece is so important -- the ability to
get through things, to be at your best when your best is needed
even when you may not be feeling your best. And that's who he
is. Great leader."
New York's OG Anunoby scored 28 points before leaving with 3:27
left in the third quarter due to a left hamstring injury. The
Knicks are already playing without Mitchell Robinson, who will
miss at least six weeks after aggravating a left ankle injury in
Game 1, and Julius Randle, who is out for the season with a
right shoulder injury sustained in January.
Donte DiVincenzo also had 28 points while Josh Hart (19 points,
15 rebounds) and Isaiah Hartenstein (14 points, 12 rebounds)
posted double-doubles for the Knicks, who played the final 8:01
without making a substitution.
Tyrese Haliburton had 34 points and nine assists for the Pacers,
while Obi Toppin scored 20 points off the bench. Andrew Nembhard
had 15 points, Pascal Siakam added 14 points and nine rebounds
and T.J. McConnell had a double-double (10 points, 12 assists)
off the bench.
"We need to get home. We need to play better," Pacers coach Rick
Carlisle said.
Nembhard opened the third quarter with a layup for the Pacers
before New York went on a 36-16 run to end the period with a
99-91 lead. Indiana scored the first six points of the fourth to
begin a 10-3 run that ended with McConnell hitting a layup with
8:03 left to cut the Pacers' deficit to 102-101.
Hart hit a 3-pointer and Indiana got within two points four more
times, the last coming at 112-110 on a floater by Haliburton
with 4:35 remaining. But DiVincenzo drained an open corner
3-pointer on the Knicks' next trip, and Siakam missed a 3-point
try and two free throws on the Pacers' following possession.
"At the end of the day, we got outplayed," Haliburton said. "We
were right there to win the game.
"At the end of the day, it's 2-0. We're going back to Indy and I
like us in any matchup. I'm not worried."
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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