Jalen Brunson returns after injury and punishes Pacers in second half as Knicks go up 2-0

NEW YORK -- The Pacers had a 10-point lead at halftime but were outscored by 18 points in the third quarter and couldn't recover in the fourth, losing 130-121 to the Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Pacers fall behind 2-0 in the series as it heads to back to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Here are four observations.

Jalen Brunson helps turn game after return from injury

Jalen Brunson, Knicks All-Star guard and the leading scorer in the playoffs with 36.6 points per game going into Wednesday night, scored just five points in the first half, but not because the Pacers came up with some kind of previously unheard of scheme to defend him. Brunson injured his right foot in the first quarter and came out with 3:32 to go in the first quarter having hit his only two field goal attempts at that point.

The Knicks were up 24-17 at that point but ended up having to play the rest of the first half without their best player and the fourth-leading scorer in the NBA this season. The Knicks still shot 58% from the field in the first half, but the Pacers really got going without him on the floor and outscored New York 56-39 the rest of the way to take a 73-63 lead at halftime.

But Brunson came back and turned the game around. The Knicks outscored the Pacers 36-18 in the third quarter to take control and Brunson had 10 points. In the fourth he kept rolling with 14 more. He still scored 29 points in 32 minutes despite the injury that cost him most of the first half.

"He's one of the most elite at getting to his spots, sore right foot or not," said Pacers backup point guard T.J. McConnell, who guarded Brunson for part of the game. The guy is just a really good basketball player and obviously a tough cover for anyone in this league.

And as usual, Brunson's presence opened things up for the rest of the Knicks. Guard Donte DiVincenzo feasted on open looks and scored 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. Wing Josh Hart had 19 points. O.G. Anunoby scored 28 points through three quarters before leaving with a hamstring injury.

The Knicks outscored the Pacers 67-48 in the second half, shooting 24 of 43 from the floor, 8 of 17 from 3-point range and 11 of 14 at the line. They posted 1.49 points per possession in the third quarter and 1.35 in the fourth after they posted 1.19 in the second with Brunson out.

Tyrese Haliburton was far more aggressive than in Game 1

With 8:29 to go in the first quarter, Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton drove into the lane, put up a floater, missed it, but then grabbed his own rebound and hit a shorter floater.

On that possession alone, he took more shots inside the arc than he did all of Game 1.

That set the tone for a much more aggressive version of Haliburton, who scored just six points on six field goal attempts in Game 1, going scoreless in the second half with just one field goal attempt. In the first quarter alone Wednesday, he scored 13 points on 4 of 8 shooting. By halftime he already had 22, hitting 7 of 12 field goals and 5 of 8 3-pointers and also dishing out five assists. The outside shooting obviously helped, but he was more aggressive off the dribble which got the Knicks' defense scrambled.

In the second half he was less effective, but still finished with 34 points on 11 of 17 shooting for the game with nine assists. He finished 7 of 11 from beyond the arc and also grabbed six rebounds and three steals. It was Haliburton's first 30-point outing since Jan. 3 when he scored 31 points in a win over the Bucks -- a game that came five days prior to the hamstring strain that changed his season. The last time Haliburton had more than 34 points was Nov. 30 when he scored 44 in a loss to the Heat.

"I just felt like we took advantage of what was given," Haliburton said. "Obviously, watching the Game 1 film, it has obviously been sitting with us that we gotta be better of getting downhill and getting more paint attacks."

Pacers starting frontcourt struggles

The Pacers have had a hard time getting everything to come together at once. While Haliburton's Game 2 was an improvement, the Pacers' starting frontcourt had a rough night all around.

Forward Pascal Siakam scored 14 points, but he was inefficient making just 7 of 18 field goals and also missing both of his free throws. He had a particularly brutal second half, making just 2 of 10 field goal attempts after the break.

Center Myles Turner had an even rougher night, scoring just six points on 3 of 11 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. Forward Aaron Nesmith brought some defensive intensity as usual, but his shooting was off as he scored just six points on 2 of 7 shooting with both makes being 3-pointers. He was 2 of 6 from beyond the arc.

All three had rough nights in plus-minus figures. Siakam was -9, Nesmith was -19 and Turner was -21. Their combined 12 of 36 performance held down the Pacers' overall efficiency number on a night when everyone else on the team shot better than 50% from the floor. The Pacers finished 48 of 93 from the field (51.6%), so the rest of the squad was a combined 36 of 57 (63.2%).

"We just missed some looks," Haliburton said. "It happens over the course of a series."

T.J. McConnell got the Pacers' bench going

The Pacers were determined to dictate the pace in Game 2 and the bench was particularly effective in that regard, especially in the first half. Their wings spread the floor well and second-unit point guard T.J. McConnell whipped passes around on time and on target.

In the first half, the Pacers' bench outscored New York's 28-10. Forward Obi Toppin and guard Ben Sheppard each hit a pair of 3-pointers. Toppin had 13 points, Sheppard had eight and McConnell had nine first-half assists.

Toppin finished with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. Sheppard had 11, making 4 of 6 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers, McConnell had 10 on 5 of 9 shooting and 12 assists. The Pacers outscored the Knicks' bench -- which included just three players and two who played more than one minute -- 46-12. All four members of the Pacers' bench, the other being center Isaiah Jackson, posted a plus-minus of +9 or better on a night when all five starters posted a -9 or worse.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jalen Brunson leads Knicks to 2-0 series lead over Pacers