Fans in attendance at Madison Square Garden for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers rose to their feet at halftime to give a standing ovation.
The same crowd had fallen silent at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter, when a nightmare befell The Garden of Dreams.
The Knicks were already without three-time All-Star Julius Randle (shoulder), sixth man Bojan Bogdanovic (ankle) and backup center Mitchell Robinson (ankle) when Jalen Brunson — to the dismay of every fan in the arena — signaled to the sidelines within the final four minutes of the opening period.
Brunson, who has gritted through every injury vaulted his way this season, appeared to tweak his ankle on a defensive possession, then inbounded the ball before gesturing to head coach Tom Thibodeau.
He then clapped in Thibodeau’s direction to alert the coach of his injury.
Something was very wrong: Brunson immediately went to the locker room, his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, following shortly behind him.
The star guard would miss the remaining three-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter, then the entire second period with what the team called a sore right foot.
The Pacers took control. They outscored the Knicks, 56-39, to take a 10-point lead into the half.
And then it happened. Brunson returned to save the day.
Fans at The Garden rose to their feet and cheered an empty basketball court as Brunson emerged from the tunnel to warm-up during the half, showering the All-Star guard with a combination of “M-V-P” and “Ja-len Brun-son” chants as he worked through his routine to help his team.
He would go on to play the entire second half, limited by a bad foot, and pilot the Knicks to a 130-121 victory in Game 2 against the Pacers.
Brunson finished with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field and three-of-six shooting from behind the arc.
The Knicks outscored the Pacers, 67-48, in the minutes Brunson played in the second half.
OG Anunoby also left the game in the third quarter and did not return due to a sore left hamstring.
The only injury this Knicks team can’t withstand is one to their floor general. Their leader. The head of the snake for a Knicks team that has protected home court to take a 2-0 lead over the Pacers with the series shifting to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.
Yet the injuries continue to be a concern, as does the mileage the Knicks starters accrue playing heavy minutes for a team positioning itself for its deepest playoff run since 2000.
Anunoby came up limping after a transition layup attempt and gingerly walked the length of the court straight to the locker room. It will be difficult to replace Anunoby, not just because of his floor spacing and staunch defensive presence, but because he and Josh Hart ranked atop the NBA playoffs in total minutes logged entering Wednesday’s Game 3.
Thibodeau turned to Alec Burks for a short spurt of minutes while Brunson was out in the first half, but the 44 seconds proved fruitless.
Hart played his second consecutive 48-minute workload and his fourth full game of these playoffs. Donte DiVincenzo played 44 minutes, and Brunson never came out of the game in the second half after hurting his foot in the first.
It became clear after Wednesday’s unlikely victory that it doesn’t matter which Knicks suit up in orange and blue as long as Brunson can keep the show on the roll.
The show now goes on the road, where the Pacers now have to protect home court against the Knicks.
They had better hope Brunson is limited by his foot. If he can go, so will the Knicks.
