Jalen Brunson scored 43 points, becoming the fourth player in NBA history with four straight 40-point games in the post-season, as the Knicks beat the visiting Pacers 121-117 Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
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Brunson had 21 points in the fourth quarter on Monday (Tuesday AEST), rallying the Knicks after they trailed by nine early in the period.
He joined Hall of Famers Jerry West, who had six consecutive 40-point games in the post-season, and Michael Jordan and Bernard King (both with four).
Donte DiVincenzo hit the tie-breaking three-pointer with 39 seconds remaining and scored 25 for the Knicks, who opened the second round with the type of close finish that their first-round victory over Philadelphia was full of.
Josh Hart added a playoff career-high 24 points and added 13 rebounds and eight assists.
The No. 2-seeded Knicks will host Game 2 on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
Myles Turner scored 23 points for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who got strong play from their bench and were in good shape to follow their first-round ouster of Milwaukee by jumping to the lead against the Knicks.
But Brunson guided New York through another tight finish, after they outscored Philadelphia by one total point over six games in the first round.
Brunson soundly outplayed fellow All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, the NBA's assists leader who finished with six points and eight assists after being listed as questionable with back spasms.
Pascal Siakam scored 19 for Indiana and T.J. McConnell added 18, leading a bench that finished with a whopping 46-3 advantage over its New York counterparts.
Hart played all 48 minutes, DiVincenzo 44 and Brunson 43.
Australian Associated Press
