JALEN BRUNSON RETURNS FROM FOOTBALL INJURY, SPARKS KNICKS PAST PACERS FOR 2-0 LEAD IN EASTERN SEMIFINALS

AP Photo 

 NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson left the locker room on an injured leg, walked onto the court and sent the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy, just as Willis Reed had exactly 54 years earlier.

As the roars turned into “MVP! MVP!” chants, Brunson tried to block out the pain in his body and the noise all around him as he warmed up at halftime.

“It was really cool to hear, but I just knew that I had to get my mind in the right place to figure out how I was going to attack the second half,” Brunson said.

He shook off his right foot injury to score 24 of his 29 points in the final two quarters, leading the New York Knicks to a 130-121 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

On the anniversary of Reed's dramatic emergence from the locker room before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to lead the Knicks to their first title, Brunson had missed the entire second quarter while the Pacers surged ahead to a double-figure lead.

Reed's teammates have said they didn't know if he would play that night. Brunson's had no doubt.

“I mean, he’s a warrior. That’s all I got,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “There was no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back. All season long, no matter what is thrown at him, injury bug or whatever, he always bounces back. And we knew the severity of the game and everything, so we knew, everybody had confidence he was coming back."

Brunson fell short of becoming the second player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in five straight playoff games, but he gave the Knicks everything they needed to move halfway to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000.

“He’s a great leader, so I think the players all have respect for that, when a guy goes out and is willing to give whatever he has, and so that says a lot about him," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

OG Anunoby added a career playoff-high 28 points before leaving with a left hamstring injury in the third quarter for the injury-riddled Knicks, who have already lost three key players to season-ending injuries.

But they got Brunson back and received huge efforts again from his two Villanova teammates. DiVincenzo scored 28 points and Josh Hart had 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for the No. 2-seeded Knicks.

Tyrese Haliburton rebounded from a poor Game 1 with 34 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Pacers, who finished the game without coach Rick Carlisle after he got two technical fouls and was ejected.

“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said during a postgame complaint about the officiating. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they are playing.”

The series moves to Indiana for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.

Former Knicks forward Obi Toppin added 20 points in another strong effort by Indiana’s reserves, but the Pacers hurt themselves by shooting just 10 for 17 (59%) from the free throw line.

Knicks fans profanely jeered Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, an enemy from the heated 1990s era of this playoff rivalry who was calling the game as part of TNT’s crew, during a delirious finish to what had been a nervous first half, when Brunson was missing for the entire second quarter.

He had made a 3-pointer for a 24-13 lead in the first quarter, giving the Knicks 10 baskets in their first 14 shots in a blistering start. But after Toppin made one for the Pacers on the other end, Brunson began waving to the bench for a substitution as he ran down the court on offense. That was early in an 11-0 run by Indiana to tie it, and it was tied again at 36 after Toppin made three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining.

The Pacers then made 15 of 22 shots in the second quarter in Brunson’s absence, outscoring the Knicks 37-27 to take a 73-63 lead.

Brunson would only say he felt some discomfort and that once he warmed up, he knew he was going back into the game.

“I had a decision to make and I made a decision,” Brunson said.

Indiana’s lead was 79-70 before the Knicks stormed ahead with a 14-0 run, with Brunson contributing a three-point play during it as New York went ahead 84-79.

Anunoby was hurt soon after, appearing to injure his hamstring while trying to finish a fast-break layup, but Brunson guided the Knicks through the finish with 14 points in the fourth quarter.

With All-Star Julius Randle gone to shoulder surgery and key reserves Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic lost in the playoffs, the Knicks have been relying on their starters to play major minutes — all 48 of them for Hart in both games of the series.

So they can't afford to play without Brunson, who finished fifth in the voting for MVP that Nikola Jokic won Wednesday.

He had joined Jerry West, Michael Jordan and Bernard King as the only players with at least four straight 40-point games in the playoffs, and came in as the leading scorer in the postseason with 36.6 points per game.

Brunson ended up getting fairly close to that despite playing only 32 minutes, saying afterward that teammates were teasing him with Reed jokes.

Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Knicks, forced to play 39 minutes after the Knicks announced Tuesday that Robinson would miss at least six weeks with a stress injury to his left ankle.

The Knicks paid tribute to Reed's return, one of the most memorable moments in NBA and Madison Square Garden history, during the first quarter. His No. 19 jersey, hanging in the rafters, was spotlighted, and Hall of Fame teammate Walt Frazier came onto the court for an ovation.

- BRIAN MAHONEY

JOEL EMBIID SCORES 50 POINTS TO LEAD 76ERS PAST KNICKS 125-114 TO CUT DEFICIT TO 2-1

 PHILADELPHIA -- — Joel Embiid is suffering from Bell's palsy and played Game 3 with a bulky knee brace to sturdy the 7-footer after dealing with injuries all season.

The lingering effects of the time off from his most recent knee surgery sucked him into a depression — and that was before Embiid was hit with a form of facial paralysis. Embiid pushed aside the pain — mental and physical — and embraced the pressure after he vowed the 76ers were “going to win this series” against the New York Knicks.

Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-saving third quarter on Thursday night to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-114 win in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

After getting punished in New York, the Sixers pushed back.

“They want to bring the physicality,” Embiid said. “We can be physical, too.”

Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.

They at least have a shot now — the Knicks lead the series 2-1 and Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.

Embiid, who scored a franchise-best 70 points against San Antonio in January, became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points on fewer than 20 shots in a playoff game.

Last season’s NBA MVP, Embiid finally turned the crowd -- which had a distinct New York flavor in South Philly --- into one rocking for the home team. The All-Star center played more like a sharpshooting guard in the third, when he saved the season.

The Sixers pecked away at a three-point halftime deficit when Embiid got hot. He hit one 3 and then two more —- the last two with assists from Tyrese Maxey — that gave the Sixers an 82-72 lead. His fourth 3 pushed the lead to 98-85.

Not bad for a career 34% 3-point shooter.

Maxey added two 3s in the quarter and the 76ers went a whopping 9 of 12 from beyond the arc for 43 points.

Embiid mostly kept his cool and was in the mix on both ends of the court all game. Embiid had 17 points, three fouls and he even grabbed Mitchell Robinson and dragged him to the court in a first half where they again weren't good enough to look like a team that could beat the Knicks.

Embiid was whistled for a flagrant foul on the play. Robinson suffered a sprained left ankle and left the arena in a boot.

“I didn't mean to hurt anybody,” Embiid said. “In those situations, I've got to protect myself.”

Embiid said he first started suffering from the affliction about a “day or two” before the Sixers played the Miami Heat on April 17 in the play-in tournament.

“My left side of my face, my mouth and my eye,” Embiid said. “It’s been tough. But I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep fighting through anything.”

The Knicks won the first two games in New York, highlighted by Donte DiVincenzo's go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left in Game 2. Against the backdrop of two Villanova national championship banners they helped the program win, the trio of former Wildcats were largely stifled in Game 3.

Jalen Brunson did lead the Knicks with 39 points and 13 assists. Josh Hart — whose spectacular 3-point shooting in New York was an unexpected bonus for the Knicks — scored 20 points but DiVincenzo had five.

Hart said he was “all for tough playoff fouls” but Embiid's foul could have put Robinson out for a “serious amount of time.”

The Knicks must have felt at home inside a Sixers' arena that sounded more like Madison Square Garden as chants of "Let's Go Knicks!' echoed throughout the arena for a chunk of the game. John Starks wildly cheered them on from his courtside.

The Sixers countered with Allen Iverson, who along with Embiid and Billy Cunningham are the only players in franchise history to hit 50 points in a playoff game.

But nostalgia didn't matter much between teams that played each other in a postseason series for the first time since 1989.

This one could be shaping up as one to remember.

Embiid was serenaded with “MVP! MVP!” chants as he stretched the lead from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

“Joel Embiid has been banned from the Empire State Building,” was posted on the skyscraper's social media account.

Maxey finished with 25 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 points and showed no lingering effects following his reported involvement in a car crash after Game 2. Cam Payne hit three 3s and scored 11 points.

“I think Cam Payne was the MVP of the game," 76ers guard Kyle Lowry said.

Outside of a disputed call on Embiid's flagrant, Game 3 was played without any significant disputes with the officiating after the NBA said the referees missed several late calls in Game 2.

Embiid's 21 free-throw attempts were more than New York attempted the entire game; the Knicks made 13 of 19.

“I'll send my clips in like I do every game,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They'll say marginal contact. Then they'll say marginal contact on Embiid and he'll be at the line 21 times. That's just the way it works.”