On May 7, Beijing time, the NBA semifinals continued, and the Knicks narrowly defeated the Pacers 121-117 at home, leading the series 1-0. In this game, the Pacers were still leading in the first three quarters, but they were blasted out 39-30 by the Knicks in the final quarter, and unfortunately they were reversed, the Pacers are a team without defense, and the collapse in the final quarter is understandable, but the referee's blowing penalty is also controversial, the Knicks made 26 free throws in the game, while the Pacers only had 19. After the game, Su Qun, a famous domestic mouthpiece, also commented that at least 6 games were played in this round of the series, and the Knicks had a better chance of winning. And this time the Knicks got off to a good start in the semifinals, and the two monsters, Hart and Brunson, played a great role.
哈特打满48分钟砍24+13+8
In this game, Hart did not rest for a second, cutting 24 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 1 block, and the shooting efficiency of 9 out of 13 is too high. In fact, since the start of this year's playoffs, Thibodeau has had high hopes for Hart, and his playing time is even higher than that of core Brunson, although it is very tiring, but this is a great affirmation.
In the first round, the Knicks eliminated the 76ers 4-2, and Hart played 42 minutes, 48 minutes, 43 minutes, 46 minutes, 53 minutes and 46 minutes in 6 games, all of which played more than 40 minutes, including two full games, and even 5 minutes of overtime. In the semifinals G1, Hart played 48 minutes again, played 7 games in the playoffs, and he has played 3 full games, averaging 46.6 minutes per game, which is also the most terrifying playing time in NBA history.
Brunson scored 40 points in four straight games
In addition to Hart, there is also a monster in New York is Brunson, he cut 43 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in today's game, 4 consecutive 40+ games in the playoffs, becoming the second person in history second only to Jordan, setting a new NBA record in the last 31 years, Jordan did it in the playoffs in 1993, and great scorers such as James, Kobe, Curry, and Durant have not scored 40 points in 4 consecutive games in the playoffs, which shows how amazing Brunson's performance is.
Moreover, in the past five playoff games, Brunson has scored a total of 210 points and 47 assists, and he is also the third star in NBA history to score at least 200 points and 40 assists in five consecutive playoff games, the first two being Jordan and James. Brunson played at an MVP-caliber level, proving himself to be a qualified leader, and he will lead the team to even better results than Melon Anthony in the future. Brunson has booked a super-max contract, which is also earned by his own hard work, and he is also a representative of inspirational players.
Lakers Mavericks remorse
The Knicks' two most capable players right now were waived by the Lakers and the Mavericks. Hart was once a star that the Lakers focused on cultivating, in 2019, in order to get Anthony Davis, the Lakers traded Hart to the Pelicans, and now look at it, this is also one of the most speechless operations in the history of the Lakers, although Hart is not a top star, but his contribution is not inferior to that of an All-Star player, but the Lakers don't know how to use him as a shooter, and under Thibodeau, Hart really found his position. So far in the playoffs, Hart has averaged 17.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game.
It is estimated that Cuban is depressed now, why did he let Brunson leave at that time? Brunson was originally the main force of the Mavericks, but in order to let Doncic control the ball, he gave up the potential superstar, however, just 2 years later, the 28-year-old Brunson used his performance to prove how unwise the Mavericks' choice was. Brunson averaged 35.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 9 assists per game in the playoffs, and he was also the best individual player in this year's playoffs. Brunson has at least five years left in his prime, and he could lead the team to the next level, and the Knicks are really making a lot of money.