At the Buzzer: R2G2 — Knicks 130, Pacers 121
Brunson suffered a foot injury, Anunoby was unable to finish the game. These feisty Knicks outworked and outrebounded the Pacers, who now trail 0-2 in the series.
The Pacers needed to win one game before returning to Indianapolis later this week. And the New York Knicks were without another rotational player. Mitchell Robinson was ruled out for the next 6-8 weeks after sustaining a stress injury to his left ankle.
What’s the make-up of this Pacers team? We’re about to find out…
The game officials were Marc Davis, Josh Tiven, JB DeRosa, Ray Acosta (alternate)
The Knicks are without Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson.
Watch my live postgame show in the media player below:
🏀How it happened: The early questions about Tyrese Haliburton were quickly answered. After just six points on six shots (and no free throws) in Game 1, he took three of their first six shots and had a game-high 13 points after 1. A silly foul on Miles McBridge led to three free throws from Obi Toppin to tie the game at 36.
Jalen Brunson suffered a right foot injury with 3:45 left in the first quarter and he reminded back in the locker room until the second half. (Click here for the video) “Keep working,” Myles Turner could be heard saying during a timeout. “Stay in the moment, men.” T.J. McConnell made everything go for the Pacers, piling up nine assists in just over 12 minutes early. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau had to be furious with his team at halftime after they gave up 73 first-half points on 57% shooting — including 10 3s, matching their Game 1 output.
The Knicks came out of the locker room on a mission. They went on a 21-4 run, ripped off 14 straight points and doubled-up the Pacers in the third frame (36-18). IU product OG Anunoby stepped up in a big way during Brunson’s absence. But after scoring 28 points, he left the game with 3:27 to play in the quarter with a sore left hamstring. That’s something to watch the rest of the series.