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And just like that, the New York Knicks Cinderella story comes to an end as the injury plagued team was routed by a red-hot Indiana Pacers team in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon (May 19).
As ESPN, reports, the Indiana Pacers set a playoff mark with their hot shooting in the first half of the game and though they cooled off in the second half they still ended the game with a 67.1% field goal percentage which is the highest ever recorded in an NBA playoff game. Fittingly, the Knicks superstar point guard, Jalen Brunson suffered a season ending injury in the second half of the game when he fractured his hand and was pulled from the game as the Knicks saw their playoff dreams slip away at the hands of a fully healthy Pacers squad.
Per ESPN:
It was the greatest shooting half in a playoff game on record, beating the 74% the San Antonio Spurs shot during the 2014 NBA Finals in a performance that left some thinking that was one of the finest displays of offensive basketball ever. And the Pacers beat it.
The Knicks made a push in the third quarter, thanks largely to a series of 3-pointers from DiVincenzo (37 points). He ended up with nine treys for the game, setting a Knicks playoff record. Those 3s and some rare defensive stops cut the Pacers’ lead from 22 points down to seven and had the Knicks fans thinking they might see something to remember after all.
Had the Knicks even somehow pulled off a miracle on 34th street and won the game, they’d certainly be swept by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals without their floor general in Jalen Brunson who was struggling with his game before fracturing his hand on a play in the 3rd quarter.
It was already a tough day for Brunson, who was just 6-of-17 shooting for 17 points before exiting.
“It’s a part of the game and, like I said, this group, we didn’t make excuses for anything,” Brunson said. “And so if things happen, we go forward with what we had. Obviously we wanted everyone healthy.”
Unfortunately for the Knicks, health was in short order this season as every one of their starters had been sidelined by the time Game 7 rolled around. With four bench players in the starting lineup and Jalen Brunson leading the charge, many considered it a miracle that the Knicks lasted as long as they did in the playoffs.
This is probably the first time that the Knicks got eliminated from the playoffs and New York fans were still happy and grateful with how the season turned out.
Respect.
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