Jalen Brunson, ‘Nova trio power Knicks’ Game 1 win to survive late Pacers scare

The Cardiac Knicks survived another one.

In the latest Knicks playoff installment of “finding any way and each way to win,” the home team rode its Villanova trio again in Monday’s 121-117 Game 1 thriller, recovering from a late deficit with a few clutch plays in the final seconds.

Jalen Brunson rose to the top of the elite of the elite company by scoring 43 points, becoming the first player since Michael Jordan to record four consecutive 40-point games in the playoffs.

Yet Brunson probably wasn’t the biggest hero of Monday’s Game 1 win. His former college teammate, Donte DiVincenzo, made the biggest plays on both sides of the ball, including a clutch trey with 39 seconds left to give the Knicks the lead for good.

“It felt good,” DiVincenzo said. “I believe every shot that I take is going in.”

Twenty-seven seconds later, DiVincenzo drew the big offensive foul by running into an illegal screen — albeit controversial — by Myles Turner when the Pacers had a chance to tie. DiVincenzo finished with 25 points, all while serving as the main defender on Tyrese Haliburton and holding the Pacers All-Star to a measly six points.

Brunson showed the type of scoring brilliance that’s come to be expected from the point guard, shooting 14 for 26 with six assists and six boards in 43 minutes. Josh Hart was everywhere with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Still, the Knicks were in danger of losing Game 1 for much of the evening. They had to climb out of a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and trailed by two with 90 seconds left.

That’s when Brunson followed with a stepback in the paint for the tie, the Pacers missed a trey, and DiVincenzo knocked down his latest big 3-pointer.

Following a Brunson turnover with 18 seconds left, the Pacers had a chance to tie but Turner was whistled for that controversial illegal screen on the following possession.

DiVincenzo drew the foul while chasing Haliburton around Turner’s pick. The Pacers challenged it and the league upheld the call.

“It was a good play,” DiVincenzo said.

The series is chock full of storylines, most prevalent to the 40-and-over crowd being the history of a rivalry that peaked in intensity and hatred roughly 25 years ago. John Starks and Larry Johnson, responsible for the famous 4-point play against the Pacers, watched from courtside.

Beyond the nostalgia, the Game 1 setting included Brunson versus Haliburton; Brunson versus former coach Rick Carlisle; Obi Toppin versus the Knicks; the Pacers’ pace versus New York’s rebounding.

The Pacers, seeded sixth, are the underdogs despite beating No. 3 Milwaukee and having the second- and third-best players in the series against the Knicks, Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. The Knicks are trying to advance to their first conference finals since 2000.

Carlisle was eager for the mysteries to begin unfolding after the Pacers won the regular-season series, 2-1.

“This is going to be a highly competitive series. No one knows what’s going to happen. there are unknowns,” Carlisle said. “We haven’t seen [Mitchell] Robinson since December [because of his ankle surgery]. We haven’t seen Anunoby at all. We didn’t see [Isaiah] Hartenstein the last time we played. Our team has changed some since we played last time. Once you jump the ball up, you just start going.”

There were no surprises in the defensive matchups. DiVincenzo started on Haliburton, mimicking the regular season.

Andrew Nembhard drew the Brunson assignment after tipoff, but the Pacers threw a steady dose of different defenders at him.

Per normal these days, nobody could stop Brunson. The point guard became the first player in NBA history with 40-plus points and five-plus assists in five straight playoff games.

“That’s what you love about Jalen,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You could go on and on every night. The thing I love about him is he’s all about the team. All he cares about is winning. And he cares about his teammates.”