Jalen Brunson’s Comeback Ignites Knicks to Commanding 2-0 Lead over Pacers in Eastern Semifinals

Jalen Brunson got back from a right foot injury to score 24 of his 29 places in the final part, driving the New York Knicks to a 130-121 triumph over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference elimination rounds

Jalen Brunson’s Dramatic Return Inspires Madison Square Garden Crowd, Spurs Knicks to Victory in Game 2 Showdown Against Pacers

Jalen Brunson, who exited with a foot injury terrible at late in Wednesday night’s Game 2 versus the Indiana Pacers, had returned to Madison Square Garden floor during halftime with the hope of pushing through the pain. At the moment he strolled through the tunnel, the crowd erupted! A sound so loud that Hartenstein and his teammates heard from their lockers, and so intense that Brunson begged fans to tone things a bit down so he could gain necessary mental clarity to test his foot.

The MVP chants that the Knicks heard from the locker room, almost like a bat signal, hinted Brunson was back, all set to lead the way. And truly, Brunson’s return revitalized the short-handed Knicks in the second half, aiding them in staging a comeback and pushing through multiple injuries to defeat the Pacers 130-121 to take a 2-0 series lead in their conference semifinals.

“He’s an okay leader, and players have respect for that when a guy attempts to provide whatever he has. It says a decent amount about him,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau rambled. “For me, the actions say notably more than the words. It tells the story that you care a lot about your team and your teammates.”

New York’s victory arrived with a costly! As the series moves to Indianapolis for Games 3 and 4, Star defender OG Anunoby, who had a career-high 28 points in his 28 minutes of labor, limped to the locker room in the third period and did not return after injuring his right hamstring. Thibodeau mentioned he had not yet conversed with the team’s medical staff to comprehend the severity of Anunoby’s injury.

The Knicks’ health struggles provided openings for Indiana, and the Pacers initially took advantage of New York’s lack of offense without Brunson. Fueled by Tyrese Haliburton’s rebound performance after a lethargic Game 1 and T.J. McConnell’s sound playmaking, Indiana controlled the final 15 minutes of the first half, going on a crowd-pleasing 56-39 run during Brunson’s locker room time. The Pacers led 73-63 at the half.

But then, 54 years to the day that Willis Reed energized the Garden by hobbling out of the tunnel just before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Brunson evaluated the foot. Doing so induced the roar heard all the way back inside the Knicks’ locker room.

“It was sort of cool, but I just knew I had to get my mind in the tight place to figure out how I was going to attack in the second half,” Brunson said of the MVP chants fans welcomed him with.

“He’s kind of a warrior,” said Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo, who culminated with 28 points. “There was no doubts in my brain that he’d be back.”

Brunson’s presence — and the Pacers efforts to trap him — changed the game’s direction nearly instantaneously. Within the first five and a half minutes of the second half, New York had already generated a 15-point swing to take a five-point lead.

Like Game 1, it was an on-and-off affair that wasn’t without controversy. With the Knicks up 124-118, the Pacers pressed Hartenstein in the backcourt with just over a minute remaining. An official indicated that he was calling Hartenstein for a double penalty, which would have given possession to the Pacers. But then, moments later, the referees huddled and instead determined it was an accidental whistle, giving the ball back to the Knicks.

Before long, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was given two technical fouls and ejected.

The decision to eliminate the original double dribble call emerged one game after the Pacers were put at a disadvantage by an erroneous kicked ball violation. In the ultimate minute of Game 1, with the score tied at 115, Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith tipped a pass with his hand before a referee blew a whistle to stop what could have turned into a Pacers fast break.

When Carlisle and the Pacers grumbled late in Game 1, they were notified the play — not a foul or out-of-bounds call — wasn’t reviewable.

Despite, Indiana had its opportunities throughout Game 2, particularly with Haliburton (34 points, nine assists) resembling more like himself, a slowed Brunson (29 points) finally looking mortal after a historic four-game run and Anunoby being coerced to vacate the game in the third.

Anunoby seemed to plant his leg awkwardly during a transition layup, and Brunson was compelled to commit a penalty to halt play and get a substitution for him. It was the newest ailment for a New York club that has coped with them all season.

One day before the Game 2 victory, backup center Mitchell Robinson had been ruled out six to eight weeks with an ankle injury, possibly concluding his postseason. That arrived one week after wing Bojan Bogdanovic had been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign due to wrist and foot surgeries. And the team had already forfeited two-time All-NBA forward Julius Randle for the year when he dislocated his shoulder in late January.

With his team short-handed, Thibodeau was pressed to play his starters substantial minutes in recent weeks. Tuesday was the fourth time Josh Hart (19 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists) has played all 48 minutes of a game this postseason, making him the first player since the Thibodeau-coached Jimmy Butler in 2013 to do so. In Anunoby’s case, he had averaged 46 minutes in the four games before Tuesday, the most he’d ever averaged over a four-game span in his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information.”.

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