It's a familiar playoff formula for the New York Knicks. If Jalen Brunson scores 40 points (or more), the Knicks win.
Jalen Brunson scored 43 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Knicks to a 121-117 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the second round of the NBA playoff series.
New York's star point guard scored 40 or more points in four consecutive playoff games. But Monday night's effort was tougher because Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell were sharing ball-handling duties, making it difficult to get breaks on defense. Became.
Brunson and his teammates looked as if they would be depleted early in the match, but had plenty of energy by the end. Each of New York's starters scored in double figures. Donte Divicenzo had 25 points (5-of-8 3-pointers) and Josh Hart added 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Knicks manager Tom Thibodeau worked his starters hard by using just three players on the bench (who contributed three points), and Indiana got 44 points from their reserves.
The Pacers' depth allowed them to maintain a fast pace throughout the game even after scoring, leaving the Knicks exhausted trying to keep up. (Though Hart did try.) Nowhere was this more evident than in the second quarter, when the Pacers beat New York 31-22. And the Knicks were held to just 22 points as Isaiah Hartenstein hit a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Knicks fought back in the third quarter and eventually took a 73-68 lead, but they tired again and outscored the Pacers 10-0, leading 87-82 entering the fourth quarter. But Brunson, DiVicenzo and Hart don't seem ready to let New York lose despite Indiana's best efforts.
Brunson vs. Haliburton was a no contest.
A great game on stage at Madison Square Garden would have been a great story for Haliburton during its breakout season. Maybe something like that will happen in this series as well. However, he scored only six points in the key matchup against Brunson.
Myles Turner led the Pacers with 22 points, followed by Pascal Siakam with 19 points (6 rebounds, 5 assists) and McConnell with 18 points.
In Game 1, Haliburton's playmaking spread the scoring throughout the lineup. The All-Star point guard led the NBA with 10.9 assists per game during the regular season and had eight assists on Monday night, helping lead reserves Obi Toppin and Isiah Jackson to easy baskets.
But maybe Halliburton was always going to lose in a one-on-one battle. Brunson has been the story of the Eastern Conference playoffs thus far. In his last five games, he's been at superstar level. Brunson scored 210 points during that span, the most since Michael Jordan in 1993. According to ESPN.
Game 2 of the Pacers-Knicks series is scheduled for Wednesday. Tipoff will air on TNT at 8pm ET.
