NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson had just tied Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing’s franchise record by reaching 30 points in the playoffs for the 18th time with the New York Knicks.
Then the Knicks hit the Indiana Pacers with a 14-0 run after Brunson had to go to the bench early in the fourth quarter Wednesday night after picking up his fifth foul, opening a 108-92 lead.
But the Knicks collapsed down the stretch and lost 138-135 in overtime of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“In the playoffs, when you win, it’s the best thing ever. When you lose, it’s the worst thing ever,” Brunson said. “The best way to deal with all that is to stay level-headed and making sure we have each other’s backs.”
Brunson finished with 43 points, and his 3-pointer made it 119-105 with 2:51 to go. Teams leading by at least 14 points in the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter had been 994-0 since detailed play-by-play began being kept in 1997-98.
But the Knicks, usually so steady late mostly because of Brunson, were anything but.
“We didn’t finish the game out,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “We didn’t run through the finish line.”
Brunson is in his third season with the Knicks and has led them to the conference finals for the first time since 2000, which was Ewing’s final season with the team. The No. 1 pick in the 1985 draft played in 135 postseason games with the Knicks.
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