NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Jaylen Brunson scored 34 points to help the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 119-113 on Wednesday night.
RJ Barrett added 27 points in his return from a finger injury that sidelined him six games, and Julius Randle had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
鈥淚 was trying to be aggressive,鈥� Barrett said. 鈥淚鈥檝e鈥� been working, I haven鈥檛 just been sitting down. I just wanted to find some sort of rhythm. I鈥檓 cool with giving it my all and living with the results.鈥�
Buddy Hield led Indiana with 31 points.
After New York led by 25 points in the third quarter, Hield cut it to 105-103 with a 3-pointer with 3:10 left. Brunson countered for the Knicks, scoring the next seven points of the game.
鈥淚 think we stayed poised and finished out the game,鈥� Brunson said. 鈥淲e obviously want to keep a lead and win comfortably, but that team wasn鈥檛 going to quit. I have to give them a lot of credit. For us, we have to continue to hold leads better. Keep our foot on the gas with the lead. That is a work in progress for us. But, a win is a win.鈥�
Hield鈥檚 four-point play with 1:22 remaining pulled the Pacers to 112-109. He had a chance to tie it on Indiana鈥檚 next possession, but his 3-pointer was off the mark.
Quentin Grimes鈥� 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining sealed it for the Knicks.
鈥淥nce he called my number I knew I had to be ready,鈥� Grimes said. 鈥淎nd if the pass was coming to me I had to knock it down, and that鈥檚 what happened tonight.鈥�
Grimes finished with 18 points, Immanuel Quickley had 11 and Mitchell Robinson had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points for Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton, who left with a sore knee late in the third quarter and did not return, had 15.
鈥淥ur guys showed great competitive spirit in making an amazing run to cut it I think to two,鈥� Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. 鈥淎s a coaching staff, we are really proud of our effort in the second half, particularly in the absence of a lot of our top players.鈥�
TIP-INS:
Pacers: Indiana set a franchise record by hitting at least 10 3-pointers in its 19th straight game. 鈥� Carlisle coached Brunson in Dallas for three seasons (2018-21).
Knicks: New York is 11-11 at Madison Square Garden this season. It is the only team in the NBA with a winning record, but without a home mark above .500. 鈥� Randle is the only Knick to start all 42 games.
UP NEXT:
Pacers: Hosts Atlanta on Friday night.
Knicks: At Washington on Friday night.
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Jeffrey Bernstein, The Associated Press
