NEW YORK (AP) — Just like Willis Reed did 54 years ago, Jalen Brunson left the locker room with an injured leg and walked onto the court, sending the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy. .
The roar turned into “MVP!” MVP! ” chant, Brunson tried to block out the pain in his body and the noise around him while warming up at halftime.
“I was really happy to hear that, but I knew I had to get my mind back in the right place to figure out how to attack in the second half,” Brunson said.
He shook off a right foot injury to score 24 of his 29 points in the final two quarters, leading the New York Knicks to a 130-121 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. took the lead.
On the anniversary of Reid's dramatic emergence from the locker room before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to lead the Knicks to their first title, Brunson played the entire second quarter as the Pacers surged to a double-digit lead. He was absent.
Reed's teammates said they did not know if Reed would play that night. Mr. Branson had no doubts.
“I mean, he's a warrior. That's all I got,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “There was no question in my mind that he would come back. Throughout the season, no matter what injuries or anything else is thrown at him, he always bounces back. And we… We all knew he was going to be back because we knew the toughness of the game and everything.”
Brunson fell short of becoming just the second player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in five straight playoff games, but he provided everything the Knicks need to advance halfway to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000. He gave it to me.
“I think he respects his players for being willing to go out there and give whatever they have because he's a great leader,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That's what I think a lot about him. “It tells the story,” he said.
OG Anunoby added a playoff career-high 28 points for the injury-riddled Knicks, who left the game in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury but have already lost three key players to season-ending injuries.
However, they got Brunson back and once again received a huge effort from his two Villanova teammates. For the second-seeded Knicks, DiVincenzo had 28 points and Josh Hart had 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
The Pacers bounced back from a lackluster Game 1 in which Tyrese Haliburton had 34 points, nine assists and six rebounds, but was ejected after receiving two technical fouls and finished the game without coach Rick Carlisle.
“Small market teams deserve equal opportunity,” Carlisle said in his postgame complaint about officiating. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they're playing.”
The series moves to Indiana on Friday for Game 3, followed by Game 4 on Sunday.
Former Knicks forward Obi Toppin added 20 points for Indiana's backup team, but the Pacers were hurt by shooting just 10-of-17 (59%) from the free-throw line. Ta.
While Knicks fans went crazy through a tense first half with Brunson sidelined, the Hall of Famers of the Pacers, arch-rivals from the 1990s during a heated playoff rivalry and calling games as part of TNT He jeered and insulted incoming player Reggie Miller. For the entire second quarter.
He got off to a great start, hitting a 3-pointer in the first quarter for a 24-13 lead and giving the Knicks 10 baskets on their first 14 shots. However, after Toppin scored against the Pacers on the other end, Brunson began waving to the bench for a substitution while running down the court on offense. This led to Indiana going on an 11-0 run to tie the score, and after Toppin made three free throws with 0.3 seconds left, the score was tied at 36 again.
The Pacers then made 15 of 22 shots in the second quarter without Brunson, outscoring the Knicks 37-27 and taking a 73-63 lead.
Brunson said only that he felt some discomfort and knew he could return to the game once he warmed up.
“I had a decision to make and I made it,” Brunson said.
After Indiana took a 79-70 lead, the Knicks went on a 14-0 run to take the lead, during which Brunson contributed a 3-point play to give New York an 84-79 lead.
Anunoby was injured shortly after and appeared to strain his hamstring trying to make a fast-break layup, but Brunson led the Knicks to the end with 14 points in the fourth quarter.
With All-Star Julius Randle undergoing shoulder surgery and key backups Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic eliminated in the playoffs, the Knicks have relied on their starters for major playing time, but Hurts played in both games of the series. He played in all 48 games.
That's why they can't play without Brunson, who finished fifth in MVP voting Wednesday with Nikola Jokic.
He joined Jerry West, Michael Jordan, and Bernard King as the only players to score at least four consecutive 40-point games in the playoffs, and was the leading scorer in the postseason with 36.6 points per game.
Brunson came pretty close to it in the end despite playing only 32 minutes, but later said his teammates made fun of him with jokes about Reed.
For the Knicks, Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and was forced into action in 39 minutes after the Knicks announced on Tuesday that Robinson would miss at least six weeks with a left ankle stress injury. .
The Knicks honored Reid's return during the first quarter in what became one of the most memorable moments in NBA and Madison Square Garden history. His No. 19 jersey hanging from the rafters drew attention, and Hall of Fame teammate Walt Frazier appeared on the court to a standing ovation.
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