NBA highlights on May 8: Jalen Brunson overcomes injury to save Knicks

The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 130-121 in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series.

Fifty-four years ago, the Knicks' legend Willis Reed appeared in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers despite a torn muscle in his thigh that ruled him out of Game 6. He made the team's first two field goals (FGs). Though those were the only points he scored in that game, his presence on the court was decisive for the Knicks, who won that series in the end.

As the new leader of NYC, Jalen Brunson had a similar performance on Wednesday night. He shot 2-for-2 from the field in the first quarter to get five points for the Knicks. His stats were not epic, but by distracting much of the defensive attention of the Pacers, he enabled the rest of the Knicks to attack freely. Despite the Pacers' fierce offensive power, the first quarter ended in a 36-36 draw.

Nonetheless, Brunson didn't play at all in the second period. According to the Knicks, he suffered a right foot injury. His absence was lethal for the team, which lost its offensive spine. They launched too many low-efficient isolation attacks and were outscored by the Pacers 37-27. The Pacers made 15 of their 22 FGs in this quarter. Many of their points were scored in open buckets via transition after the Knicks missed tough shots.

Brunson returned to the game in the third period, giving the Knicks a boost both mentally and physically. His teammates were heartened by his arrival to play with greater aggression on both ends of the game. They forced four turnovers by the Pacers and limited the opponents' FG rate to 33.3 percent. Brunson made four of his six shots to get 10 points and three assists in the third quarter and then added another 14 points in the fourth.

The Knicks wiped their 10-point deficit (73-63) from the first half and sat on an eight-point lead (99-91) after outscoring the Pacers 36-18 in the third period. Though the Pacers got 30 points at 60 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, the Knicks responded with 31 points and 16 rebounds, defending their lead until the end to secure their second straight win in the Eastern semifinals.

However, the Knicks' victory might have been soured by the injury of OG Anunoby. He shot 10-for-19 in FGs and knocked down four triples to score 28 points in less than 28 minutes, but exited the game at the end of the third quarter with an injury. He felt uncomfortable in his left hamstring, headed to the locker room and didn't play again on Wednesday night. The Knicks announced later on X that he suffered a soreness in his left hamstring.

It's unclear if Anunoby will continue to play in the Eastern semifinals. The Knicks already took a big injury hit in the interior after ruling Mitchell Robinson out for the rest of the season because of a stress injury to his left ankle. Robinson played a key role as the team's backup center with his remarkable abilities for offensive rebounding, finishing and protecting the paint. Anonoby was the team's best defender and their third-best 3-point shooter. He also proved with his performance on Wednesday that he could make great offensive contributions.

The Knicks couldn't afford to lose any of their leading players since they already used a seven-player rotation, not to mention that it was extremely exhausting to play to meet the requests of coach Tom Thibodeau. The team already had three players who averaged over 40 minutes per game in the postseason. Anunoby was one of them. Josh Hart played through every one of the 96 minutes in the past two games.

The Pacers will host the Knicks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the next two games on Friday and Sunday. Despite the two losses, both games remained close until the final minutes. The Knicks were able to match the Pacers at a fast pace, but the Pacers showed that they were by no means inferior to the Knicks on the offensive glass.

Tyrese Haliburton pulled himself out of the struggle from Game 1 and shot 11-for-19 from the field to drop 34 points for the Pacers in Wednesday's Game 2. There's nothing wrong with a top orchestrator like him trying to get his teammates involved in the offense as much as possible, but he also needed to increase his own individual threat as an attacker for his passing to be more powerful.