Knicks overcome mid-game injuries to take 2-0 advantage
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1. First Quarter
After disappearing in the second half in game one, Tyrese Haliburton had 24 hours to listen to the media criticize him for not being aggressive. He would double his scoring from game one in the first quarter. Indiana’s offense got off to a slow start by only scoring four points in the first three and a half minutes of the game. Haliburton gave the team a brief 10-9 lead after two free throws with 7:27 left in the quarter. New York then went on a 9-0 run to take an early eight-point lead after an OG Anunoby three. The most Indiana trailed in the first quarter was eleven points after a Jalen Brunson three with 4:04 left in the opening quarter. Rick Carlisle called a timeout, and his team responded the rest of the quarter. The Pacers went on an 11-0 run with Obi Toppin scoring five of the points. Indiana would take the lead back briefly after Haliburton’s second three with 1:27 left in the quarter. New York took the lead back on the next possession, but the team teams kept it close the rest of the way. After twelve minutes, the two teams were tied at 36. Haliburton led all scorers with 13 points followed by Anunoby with 12 points. Toppin was also in double figures with 10 points.
2. Second Quarter
During the first quarter, Jalen Brunson suffered a foot injury and was listed as questionable to return and missed the entire quarter because of it. Indiana was able to pounce on the opportunity. After two free throws from Miles McBride, New York led 40-38 in the second quarter. Indiana then went on a 12-5 surge to take a seven-point lead with 7:05 left in the half. Ben Sheppard provided half of the points with a pair of threes. The Knicks would chip away and make it a one possession game with just over five minutes left following a Josh Hart layup. The Pacers then went on a 13-4 run to take a 67-56 lead with 2:27 remaining in the half. Haliburton caught fire with three threes in the run. The Pacers were able to maintain a double-digit lead going into the locker room. Indiana’s halftime lead was 73-63. Haliburton and Anunoby led all scorers with 22 points. Toppin was second in scoring with 13 points followed by Pascal Siakam and Josh Hart with 10 points. In the first half, Indiana was 10/19 from downtown and +3 on the glass.
3. Third Quarter
Just like in game one, the Indiana Pacers were able to control the pace and set the tempo in the first half. In the second half, New York was able to set the pace in the second half for the second straight game. Jalen Brunson returned to the court after missing the entire second quarter and it immensely changed the game. It took New York four minutes and eleven seconds to erase their double-digit halftime deficit. Andrew Nembhard scored on the first offensive possession of the half for Indiana and then New York went on a 16-4 run to tie the game at 79. Brunson only scored two points. Donte DiVincenzo scored eight points during that stint. He’d add two more points after an Anunoby triple that made it a 21-4 Knicks run to go ahead 84-79. New York would go ahead by nine points following a DiVincenzo layup with four minutes left. Indiana cut it to three points with ninety seconds left, but New York scored the final five points of the quarter to lead 99-91 after thirty-six minutes. DiVincenzo led all scorers with 12 points in the quarter followed by 10 points from Brunson. Anunoby led all scorers with 28 points but left with less than four minutes left in the quarter. Indiana’s leading scorer was Haliburton with 24 points.
4. Fourth Quarter
In game one, Brunson put the team on his back in the fourth quarter to will them to a victory. He would do that again in game two. Indiana’s bench was able to trim its deficit to one point with T.J. McConnell converting a layup with 8:03 left in the game. New York called a timeout and then received a three from Hart. Indiana would make it a one possession game four more times after that, but simply couldn’t get timely stops. Brunson scored twice, Isaiah Hartenstein scored once, and DiVincenzo delivered a three with 4:20 left that made it 115-110 NYK. Siakam missed two free throws and then gave up an offensive rebound and putback dunk to Precious Achiuwa to put New York ahead seven. Indiana would never threaten to make it a close game in the final 4:20 and lose game two 130-121.
5. Top Performers
Jalen Brunson (29p, 5a), Donte DiVincenzo (28p, 6r, 4a, 6 threes), OG Anunoby (28p, 4r, 3a, 4 threes), Josh Hart (19p, 15r, 7a), and Isaiah Hartenstein (14p, 12r, 8a). For Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton (34p, 9a, 6r, 7 threes), Obi Toppin (20p), Andrew Nembhard (15p, 4a), Pascal Siakam (14p, 9r), Ben Sheppard (11p, 3 threes), and T.J. McConnell (10p, 11a, 4r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
6. Notes
- Indiana Pacers have NEVER come from behind a series deficit of 2-0 in 13 chances
- Indiana has been swept five times
- New York is 19-2 when leading a series 2-0
- Indiana outscored New York’s bench 46-12
- Through two games, Indiana’s bench has outscored NYK 92-15
- Indiana was held to one fast break field goal attempt in the second half
- Indiana was 3/5 in the first half for 8 points
- Indiana was outrebounded 26-13 in the second half
- Indiana shot 3/9 on free throws in the second half compared to 11/14 for New York
- Indiana shot 5/19 on threes outside of Tyrese Haliburton (7/11) and Ben Sheppard (3/4)
- Tyrese Haliburton’s 34 points are the most points scored in a game since scoring 44 points at Miami on 11/30/23
- Tyrese Haliburton’s 7 threes are the third most in a game this season (including playoffs, third time with seven)
- Aaron Nesmith is now shooting 29.8% in the playoffs from three
- T.J. McConnell recorded his first career playoff double-double in the loss
- Pascal Siakam is averaging 15.7 points per game since game two against Milwaukee
- First 2 games – 73 points
- Last 6 games – 94 points
- New York Knicks have scored 30+ points six of the last seven quarters
- Jalen Brunson’s streak of four consecutive games with 40+ points comes to end
- Jalen Brunson has now scored 49 points in the fourth quarter the last three games (14, 21, 14)
- Jalen Brunson played every second of the second half after missing the entire second quarter with a foot injury
- Josh Hart has played every second in four of the last seven games
- Josh Hart has recorded a double-double in three straight games and six times in eight playoff games
- Donte DiVincenzo’s 28 points are a playoff career high
- Has scored 20+ in three straight games, all topping career playoff highs
- OG Anunoby’s 28 points are a playoff career high
- OG Anunoby left the game with left hamstring soreness late in the third quarter
- Isaiah Hartenstein recorded his first double-double of the playoffs
7. Next Up
The two teams will enjoy a day off for different reasons and play game three on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Pat Boylan will get things started at 6:30pm with the Kroger Pregame Show. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play starting at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The fan. The series schedule:
- Game 1 – Monday, May 6th, 2024, at Madison Square Garden – NYK 121 – 117
- Game 2 – Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, at Madison Square Garden – NYK 130 – 121
- Game 3 – Friday, May 10th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 7pm (ESPN)
- Game 4 – Sunday, May 12th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – 3:30pm (ABC)
- Game 5 (if necessary), Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, at Madison Square Garden – TBD (TNT)
- Game 6 (if necessary), Thursday, May 16th, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse – TBD (ESPN)
- Game 7 (if necessary), Saturday, May 18, 2024, at Madison Square Garden – TBD
Knicks overcome mid-game injuries to take 2-0 advantage was originally published on 1075thefan.com
