Jalen Brunson sustained a fractured hand and was replaced in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks 130-109 in Game 7 on Sunday. Replays looked to show Brunson injured his thumb when attempting to knock the ball out of Haliburton's hand while jumping to shoot.
Indiana Pacers were merciless from the start, and Tyrese Haliburton's lethal shooting propelled them to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would face the Boston Celtics. It was the latest in a string of ailments for the Knicks, who also had OG Anunoby and Josh Hart out, as well as Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Julius Randle.
Haliburton scored 26 points as the Pacers rode one of the most amazing first halfs in Game 7 ever, taking the sting out of a raucous hometown crowd. Indiana Pacers hit 29 of their 38 shots in the first half, for a shooting percentage of 76.3%, the greatest in the postseason since 1997 when the NBA began providing complete play-by-play for all four quarters.
In these playoffs, Jalen Brunson was averaging 33.7 points, 7.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from outside the arc. In their first-round victory against the Philadelphia 76ers and second-round matchup with the Pacers, the Knicks relied on Brunson every time they needed a huge play or quarter.
New York Knicks attempted a comeback in the second half
They led 70-55 at the break and maintained their lead every time the Knicks attempted a comeback in the second half. Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard each scored 20 points, while Aaron Nesmith went 8 for 8 on route to 19 for the Pacers.
New York Knicks were looking to make their first conference finals appearance since 2000, and Donte DiVincenzo led them with 39 points and nine three-pointers. In 2014, Indiana Pacers were defeated by Miami Heat in the conference finals.