Jalen Brunson’s 43 points catapulted the Knicks to defeat the Pacers in Game 1 of the series.
NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson scored 43 points, becoming the fourth player in NBA history with four consecutive 40-point games in the postseason, and the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-117 this Mondays at night in Game 1 of the semifinals of Eastern Conference.
Brunson scored 21 in the fourth quarterrallying the Knicks after they trailed by nine points early in the period, and joined Hall of Famer Jerry Westwho had six straight 40-point games in the postseason, and Michael Jordan and Bernard King (both with four).
Donte DiVincenzo scored the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 39 seconds left and scored 25 for the Knickswho opened the second round with the kind of close finish that filled their vFirst round victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Josh Hart added a career-high 24 points in the playoffs, and added 13 rebounds and eight assists as the second-seeded Knicks advanced to Game 2 on Wednesday.
Myles Turner scored 23 points for the sixth-seeded Pacers. who played hard off their bench and were in good shape to follow up their first-round elimination from Milwaukee and take the lead against the Knicks.
But Brunson guided New York to another tight finish after beating Philadelphia by one total point in six games in the first round.
