The Villanova Three Power Knicks to 2-0 Edge Over Pacers
The Villanova Three continues to be an unstoppable force for the New York Knicks. The combination of Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Josh Hart once again combined to fluster the opposition this postseason, this time in beating back the Indiana Pacers 130-121 at an electric Madison Square Garden, Wednesday night.
The Knicks now lead the best-of-seven semi-final series, 2-0.
As has become commonplace for these Knicks they needed a miraculous second-half comeback to grab victory from the proverbial jaws of defeat. New York found itself down 10 points at the break, 73-63, and trailed by as many as 12 points in the early stages of the third quarter.
But when the Knicks needed to shots to go down, they did. DiVincenzo took control, knocking down a pair of long-distant three-pointers, and jamming home a bucket in a 90-second stretch to pull the Knicks back to within seven, 79-72.
Hart and Brunson soon followed with multiple buckets of their own to pull the Knicks even. Finally, OG Anunoby put the Knicks out in front with a 22-foot three-pointer.
The Knicks would never trail again. It felt like every time Brunson, Anunoby, DiVincenzo or Hart got their hands on the ball they would score. The Knicks wound up scoring 36 point in the third quarter, and another 31 in the fourth to pull away from Indiana.
What made it even more impressive is that Brunson led all scorers with 29 points while battling a sore foot.
DiVincenzo and Anunoby both finished with 28 points apiece, while Hart ended the night with a double-double, 15 boards and 19 points.
Reggie Miller vs Knicks Fans
Ahhh, the good ole days of the 1990s! When basketball was basketball! When M.J. was king, everyone just wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Well, a big part of that era was this very rivalry between the Knicks and Pacers, and a big reason for that was Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller. Miller owned the Knicks in those days. His heroics in the playoffs in 1995 made him the ultimate villain – not named Michael Jordan in the eyes of Knicks fans everywhere.
Let’s just say old habits die hard. Miller was back in the Garden Wednesday and was promptly heckled by fans all night, which only got louder as the Knicks took off in the second half. See how it went down below.
Even DiVincenzo had to walk up to Miller to … how should we say this … inform him what the fans were saying.
It’s all in good fun!
The Knicks and Pacers will square off again in Game 3 in Indianapolis.
