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Chris Herring, ESPN Senior Writer
NEW YORK — New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson returned from injury to the start the second half of Wednesday’s 130-121 Game 2 win over the Indiana Pacers, a game in which the Knicks also lost wing OG Anunoby to injury in the process.
Brunson exited the game late in the first quarter with a right foot injury. He could be seen favoring his right foot in the opening minutes of the second half and was playing away from the ball more than he did to start the contest. During timeouts, he appeared to have a heating pad on the foot.
But he was still a clear factor in the game, and he prompted the Madison Square Garden crowd to roar when he drew a charge on Myles Turner. Brunson then got MVP chants minutes later when he scored a basket while being fouled.
With Brunson back in the game, the Knicks recaptured the lead and maneuvered a 15-point swing in the first 5½ minutes of the third quarter.
Brunson missed the final 15½ minutes of the first half after asking out of the game during a stoppage. The Pacers, who trailed by seven when Brunson left, outscored the Knicks 56-39 for the remainder of the first half to go into the break with a 73-63 advantage.
Brunson wasn’t the only Knicks player who was injured on Wednesday.
Anunoby hobbled to the locker room with a left hamstring injury in the second half. He did not return to the game.
Anunoby was hurt on a transition play late in the third quarter after catching a hit-ahead pass before attempting a layup. Prior to getting hurt, he’d notched a playoff career-best and game-high 28 points.
Brunson, who himself had left the contest in the first quarter with an injury before returning to start the second half, committed an intentional foul to allow Anunoby a chance to sub out.
Anunoby’s injury comes after he’d averaged 46 minutes in the Knicks’ previous four games. It was the most minutes he’d ever played over a four-game span, according to data from ESPN Stats & Info.
The injury was the latest for a shorthanded, injury riddled Knicks club. Backup center Mitchell Robinson was ruled out Tuesday for at least the next six to eight weeks with an ankle injury. Backup wing Bojan Bogdanovic was ruled out for the remainder of the season last week after having surgery on his wrist and foot. And star forward Julius Randle has been out since late January after dislocating his shoulder, an injury that ended his season.
