JALEN Brunson stepped up in the endgame as the New York Knicks pulled off a come-from-behind 121-117 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Down 104-109 late in the fourth quarter, Brunson converted five straight points to tie the score at 109-all before surging ahead at 113-109 on a layup by OG Anunoby and another basket from Brunson.
The Pacers countered with a 6-0 run to take a 115-113 lead, but a layup by Brunson, a three-pointer by Donte DiVincenzo, and free throws by Brunson secured the victory for the Knicks.
Brunson finished with 43 points, six rebounds, and six assists, while DiVincenzo added 25 markers, including five three-pointers, as the Knicks took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Josh Hart has a near triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists to go with four steals and a block, while Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein ended with 13 apiece for the Knicks.
Myles Turner led the Pacers with 23 points, Paskal Siakam and TJ McConnell added 19 and 18 points, respectively, Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith tallied 12 apiece, and Andrew Nembhard ended with 11 markers.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Timberwolves put Denver Nuggets’ title-retention bid in peril with a dominant 106-80 Game 2 victory, taking a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Anthony Edwards added 27 points for the Timberwolves.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid also ended with 12 points apiece for the Timberwolves, which pulled off the dominant win despite the absence of starting center Rudy Gobert.
Aaron Gordon top-scored for the Nuggets with 20 points, Nikola Jokić added 16 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists, while Justin Holiday contributed 13 points in the loss./PN
BOX SCORE:
NEW YORK 121 — Brunson 43, DiVincenzo 25, Hart 24, Anunoby 13, Hartenstein 13, Robinson 2, Achiuwa 1, McBride 0.
INDIANA 117 — Turner 23, Siakam 19, McConnell 18, Toppin 12, Nesmith 12, Nembhard 11, Sheppard 8, Jackson 8, Haliburton 6.
Quarterscores: 27-24, 46-55, 82-87, 121-117.
