Jalen Brunson scored 29 points and handed out nine assists on Friday to help the New York Knicks post a 101-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
OG Anunoby added 25 points while Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 22 rebounds for New York, which won its second straight game to finish off a 3-2 road trip. Mikal Bridges chipped in 11 points in the victory.
Jarace Walker’s 18 points led Indiana, while Aaron Nesmith put up 12 and Ivica Zubac had 11. T.J. McConnell tallied 10 points for the Pacers, who dropped their 12th straight game.
Leading by 11 at halftime, New York pushed the margin to 15 on Bridges’ pullup jumper with 8:13 left in the third.
Jay Huff’s back-to-back 3-pointers soon began an 18-5 Indiana run, with the Pacers knotting the score at 71 apiece on McConnell’s mid-range jumper. After Brunson made a layup, Nesmith and New York’s Jordan Clarkson traded triples, and the Knicks took a two-point lead into the fourth.
New York opened the final quarter with five straight points, but McConnell scored six consecutive Indiana points to pull the Pacers within two.
Leading 90-88, New York scored seven straight points and took a nine-point lead on Anunoby’s layup at the 1:39 mark, sealing the win.
Pacome Dadiet hit a 3-pointer to stamp a 9-0 run that gave the Knicks an early 17-8 lead. Obi Toppin’s 3-pointer pulled the Pacers within three entering the second quarter.
Indiana grabbed a 35-34 lead on a hoop from Nesmith’s three-point play and then Andrew Nembhard’s step-back jumper with 6:59 left in the first half.
Brunson’s personal 8-0 spurt gave New York a 45-37 lead. Brunson added a fadeaway jumper put the visitors ahead by seven with 1:57 remaining before halftime.
After Zubac split a pair of free throws, Robinson’s dunk and Landry Shamet’s trey gave the Knicks a 56-45 halftime edge. Brunson led all scorers with 23 first-half points, while Zubac’s nine points topped the Pacers at the break.
