Seven, Thanks To 11! Knicks Steal Win in Brunson Takeover
It certainly wasn't the biggest comeback against an Indianapolis-based sports team this weekend. But the New York Knicks and their fans likely couldn't care less about the specifics.
Down by six with five minutes remaining and unable to stifle the Indiana Pacers' success from deep, the Knicks' winning streak seemed destined to die at six. A Jalen Brunson takeover served as an early Christmas miracle.
Capping off a 30-point night, his second in the last three games, Brunson partook in eight tallies (five points and an assist on a Quentin Grimes triple) of a late 12-5 run that gave the Knicks the momentum they'd need to knock off the Indiana Pacers in a 109-106 final on Sunday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The Knicks (17-13) were thus able to push their winning streak to seven, the longest active streak in the NBA. New York has also won six consecutive road games, the 14th such streak in franchise history and its first since March/April 2013.
Sunday was on pace to be a throwback performance in the scariest way for the Knicks. Though Reggie Miller obviously wasn't available for the Pacers, his trademark three-ball threatened to sink his old rivals. While neither team led by more than six at any point in the second half, the Packers hit seven triples in the third quarter to build narrow but lasting leads throughout the period. The Knicks led by as many as nine in the first half but thus found it hard to break away, having hit only eight the entire game.
Despite the game's narrow nature, the Pacers appeared to have control after an emphatic Aaron Nesmith dunk put them up 99-93 with just over five minutes remaining. Mitchell Robinson's putback off a missed Brunson jumper and Grimes' triple (his only tally on three attempts from the field) sliced the lead back to one, but Buddy Hield's triple off a jump ball and another Nesmith drunk seemingly sealed it.
But Brunson resiliency defined the final stages: after hitting a quick triple, the $104 million man took his own steal back for two more on a fastbreak, knocking a six-point deficit back down to one in only 35 seconds. After forcing a Myles Turner miss from deep, the Knicks earned the permanent go-ahead points through Julius Randle's free throws. Two more stops courtesy of Grimes (a steal that forced him out of bounds and a rebound off Tyrese Haliburton's miss) allowed the game to turn into a free throw battle, all of them sunk by Randle. Haliburton's would-be half-court equalizer fell short, allowing the Knicks to celebrate for the seventh straight evening.
Randle's sealing freebies capped off a night where he earned 25 points and a team-best 14 rebounds, one more than Robinson's 13. The Knicks improved to 10-2 when Randle scores at least 25.
Hield and Nesmith, with a combined nine three-pointers among them, united to lead the team with 23 points each. New York and Indiana (15-16) will do battle again on Jan. 11 in Manhattan.
The Knicks will now embark upon a four-game homestand that ends on Christmas Day, with the trek beginning on Tuesday night from the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
To The Garden and beyond! Get your Knicks game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Knicks? Click Here.
Follow AllKnicks.com on Twitter.
