The legend of Jalen Brunson grows and now includes his own MSG tunnel moment, poetically on the anniversary of Willis Reed’s famous Game 7 trot onto the same hardwood.
After missing most of Wednesday’s first half with a foot injury, Brunson emerged from the Garden’s bowels to cheers and “MVP” chants.
He then physically and mostly emotionally led the Knicks to their latest thrilling win, a 130-121 victory Wednesday night for a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Pacers.
It was a poignant moment for the franchise history books, especially if the Knicks carry this momentum into their first conference finals since 2000.
But Brunson, ever even-keeled in front of a microphone, wasn’t ready to put anything into perspective.
“I was just focused on making sure I was good to go,” he said.
Brunson certainly was.
He played the entire second half after that dramatic re-entrance at halftime, finishing with 29 points and dragging the Knicks past another scary injury, a game-ending sore hamstring to OG Anunoby.
Even if Anunoby’s injury means the severely shorthanded Knicks will be down their starting forward in this series, there’s a sense — reiterated Wednesday — that Tom Thibodeau’s team will always have an advantage with No. 11 on the court.
But for some anxious moments at MSG, it appeared Brunson wouldn’t be there.
With the Knicks up by 11 in the first quarter and the Garden rocking, Brunson was subbed out with what the Knicks later characterized as a “sore foot.”
He retreated to the locker room, followed by his father, assistant coach Rick Brunson, and team president Leon Rose.
While Brunson was testing his foot in the back, the Knicks’ lead evaporated almost immediately.
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The Pacers went on a 11-0 run as the hushed fans, keen on Brunson’s absence, awaited an update.
The source of the injury was hard to understand from the replay.
Brunson just ran toward the basket to go for a rebound, might’ve tweaked his foot a little and quickly asked to be subbed out.
“I don’t know [what happened],” Brunson said. “I just felt a little discomfort. And went from there.”
He remained in the locker room for the rest of the first half, as the Knicks lost their juice and trailed by 10 at the break.
Underscoring the dire circumstances, Thibodeau even subbed in Alec Burks for a 44-second cameo.
At halftime, however, Brunson finally re-emerged from the locker room — on the same day Reed ran through a different MSG tunnel exactly 54 years prior.
His presence immediately ignited the crowd into cheers and MVP chants, which Brunson tried to silence by waving his hands downward.
“It was really cool to hear, but I just knew I had to get my mind in the right place to figure out how I was going to attack the second half,” Brunson said.
Satisfied with his foot after warm-ups, the point guard started the second half and the Knicks immediately raced on a 27-8 run.
Brunson didn’t score for the first 3:45 of the half, but it didn’t matter.
The Knicks, who appeared listless and discombobulated without him, were revived. Immediately.
“When he’s out there, there’s a level of calmness, a sense we’ll get the right shot every single time,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “There’s a level of confidence from everybody that we have him on the court with us. Everybody can settle down and play their own game.”
The Knicks won the third quarter, 36-18, all with Brunson on the court.
The Pacers never recovered the lead.
Brunson, despite stats below his lofty standards, was hardly immobile. It wasn’t like Reed hitting a couple shots before becoming a decoy in the 1970 Finals.
Brunson played 32 minutes and dropped 14 points in the fourth quarter, when the Knicks created enough space on the scoreboard to bury the mentally fragile Pacers.
Still, Brunson was clearly hobbled and his movements limited.
He was helped by 28 points from DiVincenzo and another gritty effort from Josh Hart, who picked up 19 points with 15 rebounds.
“I’m all good,” Brunson said of his health. “And that’s it.”
Brunson returned in Game 2, Anunoby did not. Anunoby — probably the Knicks’ best player for most of the night with 28 points — pulled up lame toward the end of the third quarter while grabbing his leg.
He limped to the locker room with a “sore hamstring,” the Knicks announced, and never returned. The Knicks were up 90-81 at that point.
The Pacers, playing a legit nine-man rotation, cut the deficit to three in two minutes.
But Brunson wouldn’t let the home team lose this game, shorthanded or not.
Sore foot or not.
It was another chapter in the best Knicks individual season in decades.
“That’s who he is,” Thibodeau said, “a great leader.”
