Jalen Brunson, named an Eastern Conference All-Star earlier Thursday, scored 11 of his 40 points in the final 6:45 for the surging New York Knicks, who won their ninth straight game by overcoming a 15-point deficit to beat the visiting Indiana Pacers 109-105.
The Knicks have won their last three games despite the absence of fellow All-Star Julius Randle (separated shoulder) and OG Anunoby (right elbow). Quentin Grimes (right knee) also missed Thursday’s game.
Precious Achiuwa (12 points, 16 rebounds) and Isaiah Hartenstein (12 points, 19 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Knicks. Donte DiVincenzo scored 20 points while Miles McBride added 16 points off the bench.
Reserve Jalen Smith scored 20 points for the Pacers, who have lost two straight and five of eight. Pascal Siakam had 18 points, Aaron Nesmith added 17 points and Tyrese Haliburton — playing back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 6-8 — scored 15 points. Obi Toppin (12 points) and Andrew Nembhard (10 points) each scored in double figures off the bench.
The Pacers led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, had a 58-51 cushion at the half and a 91-85 advantage with 8:25 left in the game. McBride hit a 3-pointer to start a 12-0 run for the Knicks that included Brunson scoring seven points, including the game-tying 3-pointer with 6:45 left.
The Pacers responded with a 9-2 surge that was capped by Smith’s dunk to give Indiana a 100-99 lead.
The Knicks called a timeout with two minutes left after Brunson collided with Nembhard and was slow to get up. Brunson hit a layup to put New York up for good. The Pacers missed their next two shots, a span in which DiVincenzo hit an 18-footer, Achiuwa put back an errant 3-pointer by DiVincenzo and Brunson hit a pair of free throws.
Smith’s dunk ended the drought with 6.9 seconds left, but Josh Hart drained a pair of free throws before Nembhard hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left.
–Field Level Media
