Knicks use huge third quarter to come back in 130-121 win over Pacers in Game 2
The Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 130-121, in a barn-burner of a Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
Here are the takeaways...
-It looked like it would be all New York as things kicked off in this one. After some back and forth to get things started, the Knicks, led by OG Anunoby, went on a 15-3 run (capped by a Jalen Brunson three-pointer) to take an 11-point lead.
-About 30 seconds later, Brunson asked out of the game for what ended up being a sore right foot. With Brunson not on the floor, Indiana took full advantage by going on an 11-0 run in less than a minute to erase New York’s big lead. The Knicks put an end to the run with a Precious Achiuwa dunk and after that, both teams traded body blows in a fast-paced opening frame that ended tied at 36-36.
-Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin were the Pacers’ big scorers in the first quarter with Haliburton, after scoring just six points in Game 1, putting up 13 while Toppin added 10, including three on free throws with 0.1 seconds left in the quarter on a poor foul by Miles McBride who was in for the injured Brunson.
-Still without Brunson in the second quarter, New York had a tough time controlling the tempo of the game, which played right into the hands of the high-powered Pacers offense. Anunoby did his best to keep the Knicks within striking distance by tacking on another 10 points in the quarter, but Indiana continued to make shots and was up by as much as 11 in the quarter.
In the 15 minutes Brunson was out, the Pacers outscored the Knicks 56-39 and headed into halftime with a 10-point advantage at 73-63.
-The start of the second half saw the return of Brunson, which is exactly what New York needed and proved that, on the night that he came in fifth place in MVP voting, he is the team’s most valuable player.
-Thanks to a couple of Donte DiVincenzo threes and a dunk early in the third quarter, the Knicks pulled to within seven points as their comeback attempt began. From there, New York went on a quick 14-0 run, stifling Indiana’s offense and forcing turnovers in the process to grab its first lead since 10:09 left in the second quarter,
-The Knicks outscored the Pacers 36-18 in the period with Brunson scoring 10 and showing little sign of his sore right foot. Their lead got as high as nine points and they never trailed again after retaking control.
However, New York was without Anunoby for the last 15 minutes after he appeared to injure his hamstring on a fast-break play nearing the end of the third and was ruled out for the rest of the game. He scored 28 points in 28 minutes on 10-of-19 shooting from the field (4-for-7 from deep).
-The Pacers played hard until the end, getting to within one point with 8:03 left in the game, but were unable to stop the Knicks who had an answer every time Indiana got close.
DiVincenzo made some timely threes to keep the game out of reach and Brunson, as he so often does, took over in the fourth quarter by scoring 14 of his game-high 29 points even after missing 15 minutes.
The trio of Brunson, DiVincenzo and Josh Hart scored 76 points while Hart added a game-high 15 rebounds and seven assists.
-Isaiah Hartenstein had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds and nearly had his first career triple-double by adding a team-high eight assists.
Game MVP: Jalen Brunson
-It's getting repetitive at this point, but even in a game where Brunson didn't play for a full quarter, he still ended up impacting the game in a huge way and scored 29 points with five assists and three steals. He ended with a game-high net rating of plus-26.
Highlights
What's next
The Knicks and Pacers play Game 3 on Friday, May 10 as the series shifts to Indianapolis. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
