Windiana! Knicks Survive Pacers as Barrett Returns, Brunson Scores 34
In his first season as a New York Knick, Jalen Brunson is starting to make himself at home at Madison Square Garden.
Brunson fell short of yet another career-high but nonetheless put in 34 points on Wednesday night, providing just enough of a difference to earn a 119-113 victory over the Indiana Pacers. RJ Barrett played his first full game since Dec. 25 for the Knicks (23-19) adding 27 points in the win.
Though the Knicks' mediocrity in Manhattan has been well-documented ... they entered Wednesday's game as the only team in the NBA with a losing record at home and a winning record on the road ... Brunson has embraced his new surroundings at The World's Most Famous Arena. Over the past three home games, Burnson has averaged 38.7 points, setting personal bests in the prior two.
It was Brunson who helped the Knicks survive what became a far too narrow victory despite never trailing: the hosts led by as much as 25 but Indiana (23-19) inched back into the ball game despite losing polarizing star Tyrese Haliburton to a knee injury in the latter stages of the third quarter. The Pacers were also missing Myles Turner, who was a late scratch due to back spasms.
Haliburton, who has made a widely publicized case for his first All-Star Game appearance over the Pacers' past 10 games, had 15 points before his departure, held in check by a strong New York defensive effort. Mitchell Robinson had five steals and two blocks while Julius Randle made up for another tough shooting night (5-of-12, 2-of-7 from three) with 16 rebounds, 13 of them on the defensive glass.
It was Buddy Hield's 31, namely his 7-of-15 mark from three-point range, that trimmed things to as low as a single possession. The last of those triples was a four-point play that trimmed the Knicks' eternal lead down to three. Bennedict Mathurin, spelling Haliburton, had 20 off the Pacer bench, which outscored that of the Knicks' 49-16 (11 of New York's tally coming from Immanuel Quickley alone).
Brunson and Quentin Grimes united for New York's final 12 points to finally seal the deal, negating Hield's would-be heroics. Indiana had the ball for a potential equalizer, but a defensive stop led to a fastbreak for Grimes. MSG groaned when Grimes seemingly passed on an open lay-up but he later got open for a game-clinching triple.
New York and Indiana meet twice more this season, but not until its final stages in early April, the Knicks earning victory in each of the first two meetings. The two teams are engaged in an even battle for the Eastern Conference's sixth and final automatic playoff spot, with New York holding the current tiebreaker.
In the meantime, the Knicks hit the road for a weekend pair elsewhere, beginning on Friday night in Washington (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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