The New York Knicks have nine lives surviving another nail biter. The ‘Brunson Burner’ was in full effect.
In the latest playoff episode of “Knicks finding any way to win,” the home team was carried by their Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart again in Monday night’s 121-117 Game 1 conference semifinal thriller, bouncing back from a late deficit with several clutch plays like a well-oiled machine, and also a huge break in a controversial call, in the final minute.
This game was attended by a sellout crowd that included several A-List celebrities and former Knicks players; Stephon Marbury, Spike Lee, 50 Cent, Bernard King, John Starks, Larry Johnson and Tracy Morgan just to name a few.
Brunson was off the charts, rising to the cream of the crop by putting up a game-high 43 points, becoming the first player since Michael Jordan, with the Chicago Bulls, to record four consecutive games of at least 40 in the postseason. It is the stuff of legends from the point guard.
“Michael Jordan?” DiVincenzo repeated for dramatic effect at the postgame press conference.
Yet Brunson was not the biggest hero of Monday’s Game 1 victory. DiVincenzo, his college roommate, made the biggest plays on both sides of the ball, including a game-changing 28-foot triple with 40 seconds remaining, to give the Knicks the lead for good, 118-115. He took a pass from Brunson and buried the shot with no hesitation.
“I felt it,” DiVincenzo said. “I believe every shot that I shoot is going in.”
Twenty-seven seconds later, DiVincenzo drew an offensive foul by running into an illegal screen, although it was questionable at best, by Myles Turner when the Pacers had a chance to knot the game. DiVincenzo was chasing around Tyrese Haliburton and Turner turned a bit too much on the pick.
Indiana’s challenge confirmed the call after a review, which did not make Turner feel much better about the situation.
“I think it’s best when the players determine the outcome of the game,” the Pacers’ center said.
DiVincenzo finished with 25 points, 21 of those coming in the second half, all while serving as the main defender on Haliburton and holding the Pacers’ All-Star to a mere six points and six assists.
Brunson displayed the type of scoring brilliance and killer mentality that has come to be expected from the floor general, shooting 14 for 26 from the field, with six assists and six boards in 43 minutes of action.
Hart was extremely active from the opening tip, with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. He again was iron man, going the distance playing all 48 minutes.
“The dude’s crazy,” Brunson said. “It’s how he’s wired.”
Embed from Getty ImagesStill, the Knicks were not out of the woods and in danger of dropping Game 1 for much of the evening. They had to climb out of a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, 94-85, and trailed by two with 90 seconds left.
That is when Brunson followed with a stepback in the paint for the tie. Then the Pacers bricked a shot from downtown, and DiVincenzo knocked down his latest big 3-pointer.
Following a Brunson miscue, with 18 seconds left, the Pacers had an opportunity to tie but Turner was called for that controversial illegal screen.
So, the Knicks escaped again. The Houdini’s of Midtown.
As the Sixers series pointed out, they are comfortable when their backs are against the wall and are confident when the spotlight is brightest.
As usual, nobody could stop Brunson. The point guard became the first player in NBA history with 40-plus points and five or more assists in five straight playoff games. The only players with 30-plus points and five-plus assists in five straight playoff games are Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Oscar Robertson. Even they could not duplicate Brunson’s unprecedented run.
“He’s the engine,” Hart said. “We’re going to go as far as he goes.”
It is also worth noting that the winner of Game 1 captured the seven previous Knicks-Pacers series.
“Go out there and just figure out how to win,” Brunson said. “Learn from winning, honestly. You can’t just play and sit back. Gotta learn to be better. We knew we had to play better tonight. They had our number for most of the night. We just made a couple of plays down the stretch. So we just know that we need to be better because they’re gonna be better. That has to be our mentality going forward.”
