What Jalen Brunson was missing to confirm himself as the new great idol of New York was to help win a game while injured. A heroic effort to make it 2-0 in the tie against the Pacers (130-121). The point guard went to the locker room with pain in his right foot and missed the entire second quarter. However, he came back and scored 24 of his 29 points after the break as Madison Square Garden, a unique venue, hailed him as its MVP. In the voting for the award, which was presented this Thursday, he finished fifth. The Knicks are one step closer to their first Conference Finals since 2000.
“It was really cool to hear it,” Brunson said of the fans chanting, “but I knew I had to put my focus in the right place to figure out how I was going to handle the second half.” His effort was reminiscent of Willis Reed, who on this day in 1970 played the seventh game of the finals injured and ended up giving the Knicks their first NBA title. The point guard had scored 40 or more points in four straight games in the playoffs, something that only Jerry West, Michael Jordan and Bernard King had done. That streak ended, but his legend at Madison continues to grow.
“He’s a great leader. All the players respect that, when a player comes out and is willing to give what he has. It says a lot about him,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He is a warrior. I had no doubt that he would return. No matter what they throw at him, an injury or whatever, he always recovers. We knew the importance of the game, so everyone had confidence that he would return,” confessed Donté DiVincenzo, who scored 28 points.
Brunson also had the invaluable collaboration of OG Anunoby, who scored another 28, his best mark in the playoffs, although he ended up with an injury to the hamstring of his left leg in the third quarter. Those from New York are already playing without Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic, so their rotation is greatly reduced. It was the first time since that final 50 years ago that three Knicks players scored 25 points in the same game in the title series. Isaiah Hartenstein and Josh Hart, who played all 48 minutes, each had double-doubles: 14+12 for the first and 19+15 for the second.
Taking advantage of Brunson’s absence and with the help of an inspired Tyrese Haliburton (34 points), the Pacers had leads of 10 points. At halftime it was 63-73, but Brunson’s return changed the match. The Knicks took the lead with a 14-0 run and in the fourth quarter the point guard carried the team on his back by scoring 14 points.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was ejected for two technicals and at the end of the game he questioned the officiating. “Small-market teams deserve the same opportunity no matter where they play,” he criticized.
2024-05-09 05:22:33
#Brunson #heroics #put #Knicks #orbit
