Knicks’ Brunson Outperforms Haliburton

The stocks of each starting point guard in the New York Knicks’ Eastern Conference semifinal against the Indiana Pacers are hurdling in opposite directions.

Following New York’s 121-117 Game 1 win, the basketball world is running out of superlatives to adorn Jalen Brunson with. The Knicks point guard went off for 43 points with six rebounds and six assists — 21 of them coming in the fourth quarter as the Knicks overturned a nine-point deficit early with roughly 10.5 minutes to go.

He became just the fourth player in NBA history to record four consecutive postseason games of 40 or more points, joining Michael Jordan, Bernard King, and Jerry West. He also became the first player in NBA history to record four straight playoff games with 40-plus points and five-plus assists.

“The little things can go a long way,” Brunson said. “So yeah, the 40 points are cool and all, but it’s the little things that help us win games like that. So I’m just happy to have the group of guys that I do.”

Meanwhile, Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton continued to struggle, which only strengthens questions as to why he was chosen for Team USA’s Olympic roster over Brunson.

The Iowa State product was limited to just six points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field. Five of those attempts came from three-point range (2-of-5).

The clear discrepancy between the starting guards made up for Indiana’s clear advantage when it comes to depth. Their bench outscored the Knicks’ reserve unit 46-3, but Brunson received major support in the form of 25 points and a clutch go-ahead three with 40 seconds left by Donte DiVincenzo. Josh Hart added 24 with 13 rebounds.

Only one Pacer, Myles Turner, had over 20 points.

“At the end of the day it starts with me, and I’ll be better in Game 2,” Haliburton said. “No [they didn’t do anything special to slow me down]. They’re a good defensive team, [but] I’ve just got to be better.”

The performance continues to solidify the notion that the 24-year-old remains hampered by a hamstring injury that forced him to miss 10 games in January.

Over his first 34 games of the season, the Pacers star lived up to his billing, averaging 23.6 points per game on 49.6% shooting and 40% from beyond the arc. Following his return on Jan. 30, however, Haliburton averaged just 16.8 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the field and just over 32% from three-point range.