Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Somehow, someway, the New York Knicks keep winning.
Injury scares were the predominant theme for the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed in Wednesday’s Game 2 of its second-round series against the Indiana Pacers, but it still came away with a 130-121 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Jalen Brunson dealt with a sore right foot and spent extended stretches of the first half in the locker room before returning to finish with 29 points and five assists. OG Anunoby was ruled out for the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury but did much of the heavy lifting in the early going with 28 points and four rebounds.
The team is already without Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanović, but it doesn’t seem to matter as Donte DiVincenzo (28 points, six rebounds and four assists behind 6-of-12 from three-point range) and Josh Hart (19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists) also dominated.
Brunson and the Knicks drew rave reviews for their efforts:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
pic.twitter.com/kiRYnTZ9Lc
Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 @JoshEberley
pic.twitter.com/fPdMil0O6d
Dan Favale @danfavale
build the mf’n jalen brunson statue and have it ready outside msg by the end of game 2 right the hell now
Wes Goldberg @wcgoldberg
If Brunson leads the Knicks to a win tonight there might be a statue of him outside of MSG by the time he gets out of the shower.
Shea Serrano @SheaSerrano
jalen brunson legit has me chanting M-V-P in my living room like he can hear me through the tv lol
Eddie Gonzalez @bansky
Jalen Brunson won’t pay for a drink in any borough for the rest of his life
Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 @JoshEberley
Every time a Knick gets injured pic.twitter.com/VAoojcJ8WT
Shea Serrano @SheaSerrano
we all thought brunson broke his foot or whatever in the first quarter and all he did was come back after halftime and play the whole second half and dominate the whole fourth quarter lol wtf
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
Impossible not to love this Knicks team.
Five tough guys on the floor at all times hustling their asses off, Brunson making the most incredible shots, Thibs screaming from the sidelines, and an amazing MSG crowd to match the on-court energy. pic.twitter.com/qikVEMqhVT
KnicksMuse @KnicksMuse
The Knicks just won a playoff game without
• Julius Randle
• Mitchell Robinson
• Bojan Bogdanovic
• Jalen Brunson for 1.5 quarters
• OG Anunoby for 1.5 quarters pic.twitter.com/9pS5hAZ7oo
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Jalen Brunson missed one third of the game due to injury and still led the Knicks in scoring this dude is a superhero.
Insane Asylum Sources @hmfaigen
I’m just happy Josh Hart has found a place that appreciates him the proper amount. Beautiful to watch.
StatMuse @statmuse
Most OREB this playoffs:
28 — Josh Hart
27 — Isaiah Hartenstein
Playing with Hart. pic.twitter.com/5Qfjv26SxP
Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) @MikePradaNBA
pic.twitter.com/3jo63r940r
While there was some controversy at the end of Game 1 when the Knicks benefited from an incorrect kicked ball violation call in the final minute, much of the outcome came down to Brunson vastly outplaying Haliburton in a battle of the stars.
Those two were once again under the spotlight in the early going of Wednesday’s contest, as Haliburton stuffed the stat sheet while catching fire from three-point range to give the visitors a double-digit halftime lead.
On the other side, Brunson suffered the injury and spent much of the first half in the locker room. New York’s initial lead quickly dissipated, and the focus turned to the bigger picture of Brunson’s health.
After all, he has carried them throughout the postseason and scored 40 or more points in each of the previous four games. The Knicks’ hopes of a long playoff run rest firmly on his shoulders, which is why the crowd roared when Brunson returned for the second half.
He didn’t just return, he brought that crowd to life by helping spearhead a 21-4 run to seize the lead. While Brunson being on the floor provided the emotional lift, it was DiVincenzo and Anunoby doing much of the scoring with Hart doing a little bit of everything.
NBA on TNT @NBAonTNT
BRUNSON FOR 25 👀 pic.twitter.com/EjHUmQ6umN
NBA on TNT @NBAonTNT
Brunson with a BIG bucket 🔥
23 PTS | 9 FGM pic.twitter.com/ZnStfndKAF
NBA on TNT @NBAonTNT
DiVincenzo strikes again 🎯 pic.twitter.com/0qQlJWu5Fm
It was just a matter of time before Brunson found his footing, though, and he pushed the lead to eight going into the fourth with a scoring spark of his own.
However, the Knicks didn’t have Anunoby for that fourth quarter, which put even more of the onus on Brunson and others. Naturally, they were up to the challenge with DiVincenzo hitting critical three-pointers and Brunson scoring in crunch time to give New York a 2-0 lead before the series shifts to Indiana for Friday’s Game 3.
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