Game ID: 42300211
Indiana Pacers @ New York Knicks
Monday, May 6, 2024 at 7:30 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 27 22 33 39 121IND 24 31 32 30 117
IND @ NYK ScoutingIND @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 4/25 · 2 days' restOUT Achiuwa missed 2 since 4/20, returns tonight: 10 min (43% of 24)
OUT Burks missed 3 since 4/14, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 3 since 4/14, out tonight
NEW Hart 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 40 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 4/28 · 2 days' restOUT Burks missed 4 since 4/14, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 4 since 4/14, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 4/25 after 2, 10 min since (43% of 24)
NEW Hart 35 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 37 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restOUT Burks missed 5 since 4/14, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 5 since 4/14, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 4/25 after 2, 15 min since (64% of 24)
NEW Brunson 36 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Hart 35 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/02 · 1 day's restOUT Burks missed 6 since 4/14, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 6 since 4/14, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 4/25 after 2, 15 min since (64% of 24)
NEW Brunson 36 to 44 min over the last 5
NEW Anunoby 35 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Hart 35 to 46 min over the last 5
NEW McBride 21 to 26 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/06 · 3 days' restOUT Achiuwa missed 2 since 4/30, returns tonight: 4 min (18% of 24)
OUT Burks missed 7 since 4/14, out tonight
OUT Sims missed 7 since 4/14, out tonight
NEW Brunson 36 to 44 min over the last 5
NEW Anunoby 35 to 44 min over the last 5
NEW Hart 35 to 47 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restOUT Burks missed 8 since 4/14, returns tonight: 1 min (5% of 15)
OUT Sims missed 8 since 4/14, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 4/25 after 2, 11 min since (48% of 24)
NEW Brunson 36 to 45 min over the last 5
NEW Anunoby 35 to 45 min over the last 5
NEW Hart 35 to 47 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's restOUT Sims missed 9 since 4/14, returns tonight: 4 min (34% of 12)
BACK Achiuwa back 5/06 after 2, 16 min since (69% of 24)
BACK Burks back 5/08 after 8, 1 min since (5% of 15)
NEW Brunson 36 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW Anunoby 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Hart 35 to 48 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 32 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restBACK Achiuwa back 5/06 after 2, 18 min since (77% of 24)
BACK Burks back 5/08 after 8, 11 min since (74% of 15)
BACK Sims back 5/10 after 9, 4 min since (34% of 12)
NEW Brunson 36 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Anunoby 35 to 41 min over the last 4
NEW Hart 35 to 48 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 34 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restOUT Anunoby missed 2 since 5/10, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/06 after 2, 20 min since (83% of 24)
BACK Burks back 5/08 after 8, 15 min since (101% of 15)
BACK Sims back 5/10 after 9, 10 min since (82% of 12)
NEW Hart 35 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW DiVincenzo 30 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Hartenstein 26 to 33 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' restBACK Jackson back 4/21 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 13)
IND availability going into 4/28 · 1 day's restOUT Jackson missed 2 since 4/23, returns tonight: 2 min (17% of 13)
NEW Nesmith 29 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Nembhard 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 4/30 · 1 day's restBACK Jackson back 4/21 after 2, 2 min since (17% of 13)
NEW Nesmith 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Turner 28 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Nembhard 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/02 · 1 day's restOUT Smith missed 2 since 4/28, out tonight
BACK Jackson back 4/21 after 2, 4 min since (35% of 13)
NEW Siakam 33 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Nesmith 29 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Turner 28 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Nembhard 26 to 34 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/06 · 3 days' restOUT Smith missed 3 since 4/28, out tonight
BACK Jackson back 4/28 after 2, 7 min since (56% of 13)
NEW Nesmith 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Turner 28 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Nembhard 26 to 36 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restOUT Smith missed 4 since 4/28, out tonight
BACK Jackson back 4/28 after 2, 9 min since (69% of 13)
NEW Turner 28 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Nembhard 26 to 35 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's restOUT Smith missed 5 since 4/28, out tonight
BACK Jackson back 4/28 after 2, 10 min since (78% of 13)
NEW Nembhard 26 to 33 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restOUT Smith missed 6 since 4/28, returns tonight: 10 min (65% of 16)
IND availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restBACK Smith back 5/12 after 6, 10 min since (65% of 16)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brunson at 38 and Anunoby at 16 a game. Without Achiuwa (2 straight). 3 days' rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 17 free throws a game; Siakam at 20 and Turner at 20 a game. Without Smith (3 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where New York takes 23 free throws a game to Indiana's 17. Call it New York 114, Indiana 113, Indiana keeping it close.
4/25 @ PHI 114-125 — NYK notes
NYK lost 114-125. NYK took 15 more shots (90 to 75), fed by 11 offensive rebounds, but shot 49% to PHI's 55%, 13 of 30 from three, and got to the line 19 times to PHI's 33. Brunson led with 39 (13 of 27, 3 of 7 from three, 10 of 12 at the line); Hart added 20, Anunoby 17. Q1 was theirs, 29-27, but the other 3 periods went 98-85 against them. Hartenstein's -24 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/28 @ PHI 97-92 — NYK notes
NYK won 97-92. NYK shot 43% (37 of 86) to PHI's 35%, 7 of 27 from three. The glass went 52-42 for them. Brunson led with 47 (18 of 34, 2 of 8 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Anunoby added 16, McBride 13. The hinge was Q2, 30-22: the deficit went from 10 to 2. NYK trailed 47-49 at the half and won the second half 50-43. Achiuwa was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
4/30 vs PHI 106-112 — NYK notes
NYK lost 106-112 in 1 overtime. NYK shot 47% (40 of 86) to PHI's 46%, 10 of 36 from three. Brunson led with 40 (15 of 32, 4 of 11 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Hart added 18, Anunoby 17. Q2 was theirs, 32-17, turning a 9-point deficit into a 6-point lead, but the other 4 periods went 95-74 against them. They led by as many as 10. Anunoby's -10 in 50 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/02 @ PHI 118-115 — NYK notes
NYK won 118-115. NYK shot 46% (43 of 93) to PHI's 44%, 14 of 31 from three. Brunson led with 41 (13 of 27, 3 of 8 from three, 12 of 16 at the line); DiVincenzo added 23, Anunoby 19. The hinge was Q1, 36-22: from level to 14 ahead, and the lead reached 22. NYK trailed 51-54 at the half and won the second half 67-61.
5/06 vs IND 121-117 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-117. NYK shot 54% (44 of 82) to IND's 52%, 11 of 23 from three, and went to the line 26 times to IND's 19 — 22 points from the stripe to their 15. NYK turned it over 14 times to IND's 7, and IND turned those into 9 steals. Brunson led with 43 (14 of 26, 1 of 4 from three, 14 of 14 at the line); DiVincenzo added 25, Hart 24. The hinge was Q4, 39-30: NYK came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 4. NYK trailed 49-55 at the half and won the second half 72-62.
5/08 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 42 and Anunoby at 16 a game. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Turner at 20 and Haliburton at 16 a game. Without Smith (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where New York takes 24 free throws a game to Indiana's 18. Call it New York 115, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/10 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Haliburton at 19 and Toppin at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Smith (5 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 40 and Anunoby at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-5 and the line, where New York takes 24 free throws a game to Indiana's 17. Call it Indiana 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
5/12 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Siakam at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Smith (6 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 36 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the arc, New York at 43 percent from three to Indiana's 36. Call it Indiana 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
5/14 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. Without Anunoby (2 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 52 percent and 39 from three, 16 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Siakam at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where New York takes 25 free throws a game to Indiana's 16 and the defense, Indiana allowing 109 a night to New York's 117. Call it New York 116, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
4/26 vs MIL 121-118 — IND notes
IND won 121-118 in 1 overtime. IND shot 43% (45 of 105) to MIL's 47%, 13 of 49 from three. Turner led with 29 (10 of 21, 4 of 10 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Haliburton added 18, Siakam 17. The hinge was Q1, 39-22: from level to 17 ahead. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
4/28 vs MIL 126-113 — IND notes
IND won 126-113. IND shot 52% (46 of 89) to MIL's 51%, 22 of 43 from three. Turner led with 29 (10 of 17, 7 of 9 from three, 2 of 6 at the line); Haliburton added 24, Nembhard 15. The hinge was Q3, 31-21: a lead of 3 became 13, and the lead reached 19. Nembhard was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
4/30 @ MIL 92-115 — IND notes
IND lost 92-115. IND shot 44% (36 of 81) to MIL's 52%, 12 of 38 from three, and got to the line 13 times to MIL's 20. Haliburton led with 16 (6 of 14, 4 of 10 from three); Turner added 13, Siakam 12. Q1 was theirs, 31-23, but the other 3 periods went 92-61 against them. They led by as many as 10. Nesmith's -22 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/02 vs MIL 120-98 — IND notes
IND won 120-98. IND shot 54% (46 of 85) to MIL's 42%, 13 of 40 from three, and got to the line 17 times to MIL's 32. Toppin led with 21 (8 of 15, 3 of 10 from three); McConnell added 20, Siakam 19. The hinge was Q1, 33-24: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 24. McConnell was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
5/06 @ NYK 117-121 — IND notes
IND lost 117-121. IND shot 52% (46 of 88) to NYK's 54%, 10 of 26 from three, and got to the line 19 times to NYK's 26. IND turned it over 7 times to NYK's 14. Turner led with 23 (8 of 16, 2 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Siakam added 19, McConnell 18. Q2 was theirs, 31-22, turning a 3-point deficit into a 6-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 99-86 against them. Nesmith's -16 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/08 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 42 and Anunoby at 16 a game. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Turner at 20 and Haliburton at 16 a game. Without Smith (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where New York takes 24 free throws a game to Indiana's 18. Call it New York 115, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/10 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Haliburton at 19 and Toppin at 16 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Smith (5 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 40 and Anunoby at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-5 and the line, where New York takes 24 free throws a game to Indiana's 17. Call it Indiana 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
5/12 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Siakam at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Smith (6 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 36 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the arc, New York at 43 percent from three to Indiana's 36. Call it Indiana 116, New York 114, New York keeping it close.
5/14 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 25 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and DiVincenzo at 24 a game. Without Anunoby (2 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 52 percent and 39 from three, 16 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Siakam at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the line, where New York takes 25 free throws a game to Indiana's 16 and the defense, Indiana allowing 109 a night to New York's 117. Call it New York 116, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKDD D. DiVincenzo
IH I. Hartenstein
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
PA P. Achiuwa
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BS B. Sheppard
IJ I. Jackson
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
NYK/IND the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Brunson scores 43, rallies Knicks to 121-117 win over Pacers in Game 1 of Eastern Conference semis
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Brunson doesn't go into a game aiming to score 40 points more consistently than anyone in the postseason since Michael Jordan.
He only cares about winning games, so a late defensive stop is just as important to him as any of his shots.
“The little things can go a long way,” Brunson said. “So yeah, the 40 points are cool and all, but it’s the little things that help us win games like that. So I’m just happy to have the group of guys that I do.”
And the New York Knicks are sure thrilled to have him.
Brunson scored 43 points , becoming the fourth player in NBA history with four straight 40-point games in the postseason, and the Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-117 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Brunson had 21 in the fourth quarter, rallying the Knicks after they trailed by nine early in the period, and joined Hall of Famers Jerry West , who had six consecutive 40-point games in the postseason, and Michael Jordan and Bernard King (both with four). Jordan did it in the 1993 NBA Finals.
Donte DiVincenzo hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining and scored 25 for the Knicks, who opened the second round with the type of close finish that their first-round victory over Philadelphia was full of.
The Pacers then cut it to one, but Myles Turner was called for an offensive foul when DiVincenzo ran into him.
“I just think the way they work, they’ve invested a lot into this season and they put a lot into each and every day,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So, when you make that commitment to each other, you’re not going to give in, you’re going to keep fighting. And that’s the great fight. We know we’re short-handed. So, that’s our way.”
Josh Hart added a playoff career-high 24 points and added 13 rebounds and eight assists.
The No. 2-seeded Knicks will host Game 2 on Wednesday.
Turner scored 23 points for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who got strong play from their bench and were in good shape to follow their first-round ouster of Milwaukee by jumping to the lead against the Knicks.
But Brunson guided New York through another tight finish, after it outscored Philadelphia by one total point over six games in the first round.
“Playing in an arena like this, having it come down to the last couple of possessions on the road in the playoffs, what more can you ask for?” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said. “The ball didn’t bounce our way. We just got to adjust and fix some things.”
Brunson soundly outplayed fellow All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton , the NBA’s assists leader who finished with six points and eight assists after being listed as questionable with back spasms.
Pascal Siakam scored 19 for Indiana and McConnell added 18, leading a bench that finished with a whopping 46-3 advantage over its New York counterparts.
The bench isn’t a big priority for the Knicks, who will ride Brunson, Hart and DiVincenzo as far as they can take them.
Hart played all 48 minutes, DiVincenzo 44 and Brunson 43 1/2.
It was all enough to get the Knicks the early lead, their first in a series later than the first round since the 2000 East semifinals against Miami.
They lost Eastern Conference finals to the Pacers that year as part of their fierce playoff rivalry that began in the 1990s. The teams met three straight times from 1993-95 and again from 1998-2000 — when Thibodeau and Indiana’s Rick Carlisle were assistants with their current teams.
The renewal is off to a pretty eye-pleasing start.
McConnell’s basket made it 94-85 with about 10 1/2 minutes remaining and signaled an early end to what was supposed to be a rest for Brunson. He returned to spark an 8-0 run that got the Knicks right back into it, and when Indiana went back ahead 109-104 with 4:27 to go, he scored seven points in a 9-0 burst that gave New York a 113-109 lead.
The Pacers went back ahead 115-113 before Brunson tied it and DiVincenzo hit from behind the arc for the lead, just as he did in a rally to beat the 76ers last round.
“It was a little bit of like Game 2 of the last series,” DiVincenzo said.
Indiana’s bench — which should be an advantage for the Pacers in the series — provided a strong start to the second quarter, and a 9-0 run just before the half gave the Pacers a 55-46 advantage. Isaiah Hartenstein 's heave from beyond halfcourt went in at the buzzer to make it a six-point game at the break.
The Knicks surged ahead by five with under five minutes remaining in the third but once again the Pacers got a big boost from their bench, with three baskets from McConnell and two dunks from former Knicks forward Obi Toppin — one where he put the ball between his legs first like something from a slam dunk contest. Indiana took an 87-82 lead to the fourth after Turner’s 3-pointer as time expired.
Hartenstein and OG Anunoby both finished with 13 points.