Jalen Brunson Bucks Injury, Powers NY to Game 2 Victory
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 09 May 2024
No controversy this time.
But game two was not devoid of drama either for New York Knicks.
Ace scorer Jalen Brunson came back after missing much of the first half on injury to power the Knicks to a 130-121 victory over the Indiana Pacers for a 2-0 lead in their semifinals series.
New York won the opener 117-114 that was marred by a controversial illegal pick call on Pacers center Myles Turner late in the game that killed the chances of Indiana.
There was no such thing this time.
But barely five minutes into the first quarter, Brunson had to take himself out of the game with a sore right foot.
With the rest of the Knicks starters again outshining practically the Indiana bench, New York was able to keep the game close in the balance of the first quarter and early the next quarter.
But the absence of Brunson soon told on the Knicks as the Pacers, relying on their reserves to make up for the lean outputs of the starters, began to steadily build sizeable leads with the halftime ending at 73-63 to their favor on the strength of a 37-27 second quarter.
The Knicks fans were then treated to a modern version of Willis Reed comeback exactly 50 years ago when Brunson came back starting in the third quarter and lit up a rally that cut down the Pacers lead.
Most importantly, Brunson inspired his teammates to a 36-18 fightback in the period to stake the Knicks ahead 99-91 by the end of the quarter. This despite OG Anunoby who had carried the scoring in the absence of Brunson himself leaving the game due to injury.
From that point on, the initiative had shifted to the Knicks ensuring that New York maintains the homecourt advantage as the series goes to Indiana for the next two games.
Despite scoring just 5 points before he left in the first quarter, Brunson still led the Knicks scoring line with 29 points. Before he left, Anunoby had the most impressive statline of 28 points in 28 minutes of action. Point guard Donte Divincenzo continued with his fine play scoring also 28 points. Josh Hart still outplayed his Pacers counterparts, accounting for 19 points and 15 rebounds. Center Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 points, 12 rebounds and team high 8 assists. Precious Achiuwa came off the bench for 8 points.
Tyrese Halliburton had his most productive night for the Pacers with 34 points but was trigger-shy when needed the most in the closing quarter. Reserve big man Obi Toppin had the most impressive statline of 20 points in 20 minutes of action. Andrew Nembhard was good for 15 points while Pascal Siakam only managed 14 points. Ben Sheppard and TJ McConnel covered the slack in scoring with 11 points and 10 points respectively as Aaron Nesmith and Miles Turner could only come up with 6 points each.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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