Grand opening, grand closing.
Live and direct from The Jalen Brunson Show at Madison Square Garden.
The All-Star guard scored 10 points in the first quarter and 21 in the fourth in a 43-point onslaught, powering the Knicks to a 121-117 Game 1 victory over the Indiana Pacers to start the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Monday.
Brunson’s 256 total points scored leads the NBA playoffs by 55 more points than the next active player, Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell (201 points). He has also scored 62 more points than Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards (194) and 77 (go figure) more points in one more game played than his former Dallas Mavericks’ teammate Luka Doncic.
Doncic was among the NBA’s three finalists for Most Valuable Player of the Year honors, alongside two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City Thunder standout star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
That Brunson was even considered for the award embodies his importance to a Knicks team now in possession of a 1-0 series lead over the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs.
“They’re all deserving players,” DiVincenzo said of the 2024 NBA MVP finalists. “I think the thing about us is we know what we have in Jalen, and that’s all that matters. I think for us internally, he’s our leader. Would you like to see his name in that conversation? Absolutely. But we know in our locker room that he’s our MVP. He’s our leader and we’re gonna ride with him.”
The star Knicks guard became just the fifth player in NBA history to log 30 points and five assists in five straight playoff games. He also became just the fourth NBA player with four consecutive 40-point performances in the playoffs, scoring 47, 40 and 41 in Games 3 through 6 of the first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers before Tuesday’s masterpiece at The Garden.
“It’s the impact that it’s having on us,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of Brunson’s monster scoring after the game. “They’re not empty stats. They’re stats that are impacting winning.”
The Daily News’ Peter Sblendorio has more on Brunson’s record-breaking night.
Starting Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo hit the game-winner on a go-ahead three with 40 seconds left in regulation to lift the Knicks to a 1-0 series lead on Monday night.
“Yeah, I felt it,” he said when asked if he knew the dagger was good when the ball left his hands. “I believe every shot that I shoot is going in. That’s my mentality, and I’ve had that all year. Make or miss, I believe the next one is going in.”
DiVincenzo also hit a game-winning three in Game 2 against the 76ers.
“I knew [DiVincenzo’s shot] better have gone in because I was wide the f–k open,” starting forward Josh Hart joked at his locker after Game 1. “But Donte, he’s someone who is a hell of a shooter, someone who has the utmost confidence.”
Knicks beat reporter Kristian Winfield has more on DiVincenzo’s timely shot-making.
Short both three-time All-Star Julius Randle (right shoulder surgery) and sixth man Bojan Bogdanovic (ankle surgery), the Knicks have had to find creative ways to generate offense outside of Brunson’s individual scoring greatness.
DiVincenzo finished with 25 points and shot five-of-nine from three-point range, and Hart added 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Isaiah Hartenstein and OG Anunoby also scored 13 points each, and the Knicks’ starting five played 214 of a possible 240 minutes in Game 1.
The Knicks secured a victory to start the series despite the bench chipping in just three points.
C.J. Holmes has more on the Knicks’ search for a secondary scoring option.
The Knicks held Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton to just six points on two-of-six shooting and eight assists in Game 1.
The Pacers listed Haliburton as questionable due to back spasms ahead of tipoff on Monday.
The back spasms initially arose in Game 4 of Indiana’s first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
DiVincenzo not only hit the game-winning shot, but he also played stout defense on Haliburton, picking up where he left off in the closeout Game 6 against the 76ers, where he led the charge in holding All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey to a 6-of-18 shooting night.
More from The Daily News’ Fiifi Frimpong on Haliburton’s struggles in Game 1.
SOME STATS
The Villanova Knicks trio of Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo combined to score 92 of the team’s 121 points in Game 1 against the Pacers.
They also combined to dish 15 assists, generating 17 points from non-Nova Knicks, accounting for a total of 109 of the Knicks’ 121 points to open the series.
“The way they work. They’ve invested a lot into the season and they put a lot into each and every day,” Thibodeau said about his team’s will to win. “When you make that commitment to each other, you’re not gonna give in. You’re gonna keep fighting, and that’s the great fight. We know we’re shorthanded, so that’s our way. Our way is we have to play real hard.”
SCORING DIP
Haliburton has seen his scoring dip since a Jan. 8 hamstring strain in a Pacers victory over the Boston Celtics.
The All-Star guard averaged 24.2 points and 12.7 assists in the 32 games before the injury and 16.6 points and 9.4 assists after returning from the 11-day injury absence.
Haliburton averaged 16 points and 9.3 assists, shooting just 29.6% from three-point range in Indiana’s first-round series against the Bucks.
On Haliburton’s slow shooting night, Pacers sixth man T.J. McConnell chipped in 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, and starting guard Andrew Nembhard added 11 points.
“Haliburton — I say this all the time — he’s an offense unto himself,” Thibodeau said of Haliburton’s off night. “And then when you throw in Nembhard and McConnell, that’s a lot in terms of their versatility, but [Haliburton is] pushing tempo the whole time, so he’s impacting the game in a lot of different ways. And if you leave him open, he’s gonna make, and if you’re slow to pick him up, he can make a read. So sometimes they miss good shots and you’re fortunate. So we know we’re gonna have to do a lot better.”
HARTENSTEIN’S HEAVE
One of Brunson’s six assists was to Hartenstein, who heaved a buzzer-beating shot in from half-court to cut a nine-point Pacers lead down to six entering the halftime break.
Indiana led the Knicks, 31-19, in the second quarter before The Hartenstein Heave ended a 9-0 Pacers run.
“We had nothing going for us, so that sort of gave us a little hope,” Thibodeau said of the play. “And then we had a chance to regroup at the half, we came out and started the third quarter pretty good, and like I said: the fourth quarter, we did what we needed to do.”
Hartenstein said he’d made a buzzer-beater before in his career.
“I think I hit one this year — but not half-court, no,” he said. “That was my first for sure.”
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The Pacers full-court pressed on defense for the large majority of a game they controlled until late in the fourth quarter. Brunson still turned in 43 points, but the 94-foot pressure posed some issues for the Knicks in Game 1.
“They picked up full. Honestly, they did a decent job,” said Brunson, who finished with six assists and four giveaways in Game 1. “They created some turnovers, some timely turnovers. [Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle] has them prepared. That’s how he coaches. He understands the game at a high level. And so, he’s gonna have them ready and like I said, we need to be better. Even though we won, we have to be better.”
The Knicks knew the Pacers would full-court press based on how they played against the Bucks in the first round. Bucks star Damian Lillard averaged 31.3 points on 41.7% shooting from three-point range against Indiana in Round 1, but the Pacers closed the series convincingly in six games.
“That’s how they play: McConnell, Nesmith, and Nembhard — they’re tough defenders,” said Hart. “They’re gritty. They’re going to pick you up 94 feet. We made some mistakes. So we’ve got to make sure we’re disciplined and clean some of that stuff up tomorrow.”
