Tag: Sports

Germany boss Nagelsmann ignores Hummels, sticks with regulars for Euro 2024 | UEFA Euro 2024 News

Germany’s national football coach Julian Nagelsmann ignored the late claims of Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels and Julian Brandt when he named a largely unchanged squad for the 2024 Euros.

2014 World Cup winner Hummels and midfielder Brandt have been key figures in Dortmund’s run to the Champions League final, where they will face Real Madrid, but Nagelsmann said on Thursday he preferred to stick with the team which beat France and the Netherlands in March.

Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka was also left out of the hosts’ 27-man squad – it will be reduced to 26 after the June friendlies against Ukraine and Greece – while his teammate Serge Gnabry was not considered because of injury.

Eliminated at the group stage in the past two World Cups and at the last 16 at Euro 2021, Germany had a poor 2023, winning just three of 11 games which cost then-coach Hansi Flick his job.

After losses against Turkey and Austria to end 2023, Nagelsmann named a heavily changed squad for the March friendlies, including bringing in players from Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and in-form Stuttgart.

Germany impressed as a result with wins over 2022 World Cup finalists France and the Dutch.

Nagelsmann has now brought in Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck and Stuttgart goalkeeper Alex Nubel for Heidenheim’s Jan-Niklas Beste and injured Fulham keeper Bernd Leno.

Bayern’s Leroy Sane, who missed the March friendlies through injury, has also been added to the squad.

The announcement, made in downtown Berlin near the famous Brandenburg Gate, included three members of Germany’s 2014 World Cup winners from Brazil: goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, forward Thomas Mueller and midfielder Toni Kroos.

Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan will remain captain despite Neuer’s return, which Nagelsmann had already confirmed prior to the announcement.

The German FA had already announced 18 of the squad on a one-by-one basis via social media and other sources, reducing the speculation over the final makeup.

The Euros start on June 14, with Germany facing Scotland in Munich.

Germany heads into a pre-Euro 2024 training camp in the central village of Blankenhain – where England will be based during the tournament – from May 26 until June 1.

Four members of the squad: Dortmund’s Schlotterbeck and Niclas Fuellkrug, along with Real Madrid duo Antonio Ruediger and Toni Kroos, play the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1 and will not take part.

Nagelsmann confirmed the four will join the squad two days after the Champions League final.

Germany will play two pretournament friendlies, facing Ukraine on June 3 in Nuremberg and Greece four days later in Moenchengladbach.

Germany squad

Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Alex Nubel (Stuttgart), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona/ESP)

Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstaedt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid/ESP), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuehrich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton and Hove Albion/ENG), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona/ESP), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/ESP), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Fuellkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal/ENG), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)



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NBA playoffs: Celtics fight past Cavs to enter finals, Mavs beat Thunder | Basketball

Boston complete a 4-1 series win over Cleveland with a 113-98 win before Dallas beat Oklahoma City 104-92.

The Boston Celtics overpowered the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 to reach a third straight Eastern Conference finals as Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City moved to the brink of elimination after crashing 104-92 at home to Dallas.

Jayson Tatum’s 25 points helped the Celtics subdue an injury-hit Cavs lineup to complete a 4-1 win in the best-of-seven series in Boston on Wednesday.

The Eastern Conference top seeds will face either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks for a place in the NBA Finals.

But while Boston continued their progress, Oklahoma City’s playoff campaign is hanging by a thread after their damaging defeat to Dallas.

Mavericks star Luka Doncic led from the front with a triple-double, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

The Mavs lead the series 3-2 and can clinch a place in the Western Conference finals with victory in Game 6 back in Dallas on Saturday.

“We just got one more to win out of two games, and that’s it,” Doncic said. “It’s 3-2, but that’s nothing. We’ve got to finish it and go with the same mentality.”

Doncic had been furious after the Mavs surrendered the initiative in a Game 4 loss in Texas on Sunday, but said a more relaxed approach had been the key to Wednesday’s commanding effort.

“Sometimes I forget that I love to play basketball, it’s the thing I do,” Doncic said. “My mental focus was just to go out there with a smile on my face and play basketball.”

Doncic was given offensive support from Derrick Jones Jr with 19 points, while three other players made double figures.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder scorers with 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

‘Battle-tested’ Celtics want to go all the way

Earlier, Cleveland’s hopes of clawing their way back into their series with Boston were rocked before the game after confirmation that three of their top six players – Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert – were out with injuries.

But Cleveland shrugged off that setback to produce a battling performance that saw them get within three points of the Celtics midway through the fourth quarter.

Evan Mobley was superb for Cleveland, pouring in a game-high 33 points while Marcus Morris Sr added 25 off the bench.

Yet just when Celtics fans at the TD Garden were nervously wondering if a shock defeat was on the cards, Boston stitched together a decisive 13-2 run – crowned by a three-pointer from Tatum – that left them ahead by 14 points at 101-87.

Tatum, who also added 10 rebounds and nine assists, said Boston had prepared for a dogfight despite Cleveland’s injury-stricken lineup.

“Anybody who’s played in this league understands what happens when somebody’s best players are out,” Tatum said. “The rest of the guys have more freedom, they play with a different level of confidence and they play different.

“Our mindset coming into this game was, ‘However long it takes, that’s how long it takes’. We didn’t expect to win the game in the first or second quarter. We grinded it out.”

Tatum said Boston were now determined to snap their dismal recent record in the Eastern Conference finals. Boston have lost in the Eastern Conference finals in four of five appearances since the 2016-17 season.

“Each year presents different challenges,” Tatum said. “Myself and the rest of the crew have been to the conference finals something like four or five times.

“We’re battle-tested. We know what it takes. We just have to put the individual things aside and try and get over that hump.”

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum celebrates with a fan after the Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals [Charles Krupa/AP]



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Caitlin Clark scores 20 in first WNBA game but Indiana lose to Connecticut | Basketball News

Indiana Fever lost 92-71 to Connecticut Sun in the season opener that was sold out for Clark’s debut game in the WNBA.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA career officially began on the road with Indiana Fever’s 92-71 loss at the hands of the Connecticut Sun in the regular-season opener in Uncasville, Connecticut.

DeWanna Bonner climbed the all-time scoring list with 20 points and the Sun capitalised on Clark’s mistake-prone debut on Tuesday.

Clark, who was chosen with the number one pick after a record-breaking college career, tallied a team-high 20 points and three assists but committed 10 turnovers and four fouls. She shot 5-for-15 from the floor, including 4-of-11 from 3-point range.

“Disappointed and nobody likes to lose, that’s how it is,” Clark said after the game.

“Can’t beat yourself up too much about one game.”

Clark’s miscues included six bad-pass turnovers and one travelling call. Connecticut scored 29 points off Indiana’s 25 total turnovers.

Indiana coach Christie Sides said, “Caitlin was able to get her some looks, able to knock them down. Our spacing was not great. Connecticut came in and punched us in the mouth tonight. We’ll be in the gym tomorrow watching a lot of video trying to figure out how not to turn the ball over 25 times.”

Clark connected with Aliyah Boston to tally an assist on the game’s opening possession. But the rookie also picked up two early fouls and sat for most of the final 4:51 of the period.

Clark’s first WNBA basket came on a driving layup midway through the second after an 0-for-4 start. Her first professional 3-pointer was a catch-and-shoot play from the left wing to cut the deficit to single digits with 30.1 seconds before halftime, but Connecticut eventually took a 49-39 edge to the locker room.

Clark hit a 29-foot triple and Erica Wheeler added five points in an 8-2 Fever spurt early in the third quarter to trim their deficit to 53-47. That’s as close as they would get, as Bonner and Thomas combined for the next six points.

Bonner’s three-point play at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter made it 75-59 Sun. Clark made her third 3 on the ensuing possession, but Harris answered with one for Connecticut and the Fever never threatened again.

Caitlin Clark scored her first regular season basket against the Connecticut Sun in the second quarter [David Butler II/USA Today Sports via Reuters]

An unprecedented flood of interest in women’s basketball has followed Clark from her record-smashing college career at Iowa to the WNBA. The nearly 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena is sold out for Clark’s debut, and the broadcast will include player mics and roving cameras for “a WNBA Finals-level production setup.”

Ahead of the game, Clark was simply trying to soak in the moment.

“This is kind of what you worked for and dreamed of, and now you gotta put your jersey on for the first real time and go out there and play,” Clark said. “… More than anything, I’m ready for the challenge.”

The 3-point sharpshooter broke the all-time Division I scoring record, men’s or women’s, and guided Iowa to the national championship game.

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Japan’s famous brother-and-sister act eye more Olympic judo gold | Paris Olympics 2024

Three years after the Tokyo Olympics, Japan’s Hifumi Abe and his sister Uta want to go for gold again in Paris 2024 Olympics.

Japan’s brother-and-sister Olympic judo champions Hifumi and Uta Abe say they are spurring each other in their bid to defend their titles at this year’s Paris Games.

The siblings won individual golds within an hour of each other at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and they are likely to be a force to be reckoned with again in Paris.

Both are four-time world champions, and Hifumi Abe told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that he does not want to be outdone by his younger sister this summer.

“I know we are both working hard and we share the same target – that fact alone helps me,” said the 26-year-old.

“When I see her working hard and putting in the effort, it gives me strength and makes me think that I have to work hard too.”

Hifumi beat Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili to win the men’s under-66kg Olympic title in Tokyo shortly after Uta claimed the women’s under-52kg gold beating France’s Amandine Buchard.

Japan’s Hifumi Abe (white) competes with Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili during their judo men’s 66kg final bout at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games [File: Jack Guez/AFP]

The siblings will again compete on the same day in Paris, and Uta said they will keep an eye on each other’s matches.

“If we both progress through the tournament then that helps support each other,” said the 23-year-old.

“The most important thing is to keep winning so that we can both reach the final and win.”

The Abe siblings followed up their Olympic success by winning world titles in their respective weight classes in 2022 and 2023.

Hifumi said competing at an Olympics away from home for the first time is likely to be his biggest challenge.

“There will be a time difference, so I have to make sure I prepare myself right to be in good shape,” he said.

“With the judo side of it, as long as I prepare myself as I normally do, I’m confident there is no way I will lose.”

Uta Abe celebrates winning the women’s gold medal in the 52kg category during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games [File: Mandi Wright/USA TODAY Sports]

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Fury’s father bloodied in clash with Usyk’s entourage | Boxing News

Tyson Fury’s and Oleksandr Usyk’s entourages clash at media event before Saturday’s boxing bout in Saudi Arabia.

Tyson Fury’s father appears to have head-butted a member of Oleksandr Usyk’s entourage in a bloody clash at a media day for Saturday’s undisputed world heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia.

John Fury, with a cut on his forehead and bloody streaks on his face, confirmed to Sky Sports television his involvement in an incident at the event on Monday in Riyadh attended by both fighters.

“[He] disrespected my son, the best heavyweight to ever wear a pair of boxing gloves,” he said.

“He was in my face, trying to be clever – coming into my space [with] ‘Usyk! Usyk!’” he added. “… I was only chanting my own son’s name. So then he went a step closer and a step closer. So at the end of it, I’m a warrior. That’s what we do. We’re fighting people.

“You come in the space, you’re going to get what’s coming.”

Sky reported Saudi authorities had decided to draw a line under the incident.

Ring of Fire set alight already

Billed as the “Ring of Fire”, the fight will unify Briton Fury’s WBC heavyweight championship with the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts held by Ukrainian Usyk. Both are undefeated professionally.

“I didn’t see anything,” Sky quoted Tyson Fury as saying. “I was in the room doing interviews. But I’m not here for all that. I’m here to get the job done and go home and rest.”

The fight originally was to have been held on December 23. It was then set for February 17 before being rescheduled when Fury suffered a cut in sparring.

Usyk’s manager, Alexander Krassyuk, hoped the elder Fury would apologise.

“It would be nice if we hear some apologies from John because this was his behaviour,” he told Sky.

“We are the example for the whole world. … A new generation of kids are taking us as an example. What will they see from this?”

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Germany hopes to relive World Cup ‘fairytale’ with Euro 2024 | UEFA Euro 2024

As Germany prepares to host Euro 2024, the 2006 FIFA World Cup – the last major international football tournament on German soil – still plays a formative role in the nation’s collective consciousness.

Now widely known as the Summer Fairytale, the tournament is remembered as the moment a unified Germany shook off the shadows of its dark past and showed the world a new, modern face.

On the field, the German team coached by Jurgen Klinsmann overcame dire pretournament predictions to make it to the semifinals.

Despite losing in extra time to eventual champions Italy to finish third in the championship, Germany’s performance kick-started a decade of dominance that peaked with the 2014 World Cup triumph in Brazil.

Off the field, the tournament changed not only the way the world saw Germany but also the way they saw themselves.

Philipp Lahm, a key player in 2006 who captained Germany to World Cup glory eight years later, told the AFP news agency: “In 2006, we were able to experience the whole nation standing behind the team and giving us energy.

“The celebrations are good. That people come here to Germany and celebrate a big festival together.”

‘Where are all the Germans?’

German sports sociologist and philosopher Gunter Gebauer told AFP the tournament had a sudden and long-lasting effect.

“Before the tournament, the mood in Germany was very, very poor. The economy was not going well. The weather was bad and the football was atrocious.

“And then the World Cup started and during Germany’s first game against Costa Rica, Philipp Lahm scored and the sun burst through – it was almost like something from the Bible.”

Living in a middle-class Berlin suburb, Gebauer saw a neighbour unfurl a German flag from his balcony, previously considered a “taboo” due to the nation’s post-World War II reservations with nationalism.

“From there, we saw German flags and singing the anthem at Germany games – something which just didn’t exist before.”

The dissolving of internal reservations meant World Cup visitors saw a different side to the straight, rule-enforcing Germans familiar with national stereotypes.

“Foreigners who came to Germany were delighted with the German public.

“The English people asked, ‘Where are all the bloody Germans? We’ve only come across friendly people who are partying everywhere.’”

Wolfgang Maennig, a rower who won gold for Germany at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, is now a professor of sports economics at Hamburg University.

‘Feel-good effect’

In an interview with AFP, Maennig said while the economic benefits of large events were often negligible, “the feel-good effect was the essence of the 2006 World Cup”.

Before the World Cup, “Germans were not exactly considered world leaders when it comes to being welcoming”. But after 2006, “Germany has improved significantly in international perceptions”.

“I believe that foreigners see us completely differently, no longer as unenthusiastic, somewhat peculiar people, but as open and happy, which made us more comfortable with how we see ourselves.”

Jan Haut, a sports sociologist at Goethe University, told AFP, “The German people became a bit less stiff. They were more comfortable and confident celebrating victories of the national team.”

“What was rather new was that Germans themselves became more aware that in other countries the picture of Germany isn’t as bad as the Germans had thought,” he added.

While 18 years have passed and Germany and the world have changed, many parallels remain.

Germany is again racked by economic uncertainty, infrastructure concerns and fears of poor on-field performances.

Haut said the world’s attention would again shine a light on Germany, for bad and for good.

“In the worst case, there might be some surprises – maybe that people become aware that things don’t work so well in Germany currently, like public transport,” he said.

After the humiliation of two successive World Cup exits in the group stage, Germany have shown signs of life under coach Julian Nagelsmann.

They won just three of 11 games in 2023 but rebounded with strong wins over France and the Netherlands in March.

Whatever the team’s results in the tournament, Maennig said Germany could bank on the unifying effect of the national sport.

“As a rower, I say this with a bit of sorrow in my voice, but only football can bring people together like this. The cafes and restaurants show the games on monitors and you can sit and watch in a friendly atmosphere.

“It’s really quite enchanting.”

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NBA playoffs: Nuggets edge Timberwolves, Pacers thrash Knicks in game 4 | Basketball News

Defending champs Denver bounced back to level series 2-2 with a 115-107 win over Minnesota, while Indiana beat NY Knicks 121-89 in game four.

Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets held on for a 115-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in game four of the NBA playoff Western Conference semifinal series in Minneapolis.

Defending champions Nuggets outgunned the Timberwolves on Sunday as the Indiana Pacers pulled even with the New York Knicks.

The Nuggets, fuelled by 35 points from NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon’s 27 points on ruthlessly efficient 11-of-12 shooting and 19 points from Jamal Murray, claimed a second straight win in Minneapolis to knot their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.

The Pacers dismantled the Knicks 121-89 in Indianapolis to level their Eastern Conference semifinal at 2-2.

“Now it’s best of three,” Jokic said, adding that the Timberwolves’s stunning victories in games one and two in Denver had only strengthened the defending champions.

“We took a hit and we bounced back and hopefully, we can defend the home court now,” said Jokic, looking forward to game five in Denver on Tuesday.

Pacers double down on sorry Knicks

In Indianapolis, the Pacers finally got their high-octane offence firing. After the first two games of the series came down to the final minutes the Pacers fashioned a blow-out as a raft of injuries at last caught up with the weary Knicks.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points and the Pacers connected on 56.8 percent of their shots, drilling 14 three-pointers and dominating in the paint.

TJ McConnell scored 15 points off the bench for Indiana, who had six players score in double figures.

After a dunk by the Knicks centre Isaiah Hartenstein to open the game, the first quarter was all Pacers, Indiana pushing their lead to as many as 23 points.

Knicks talisman Jalen Brunson was 0-for-5 in the opening quarter and the Pacers bench out-scored the Knicks reserves 17-0 in the period.

The domination continued in the second quarter, Haliburton sending the crowd into a frenzy with a three-pointer over Donte DiVincenzo that put the Pacers up by 30 with 5.9 seconds left in the first half.

They would lead by as many as 43 before it was over, but despite the rapturous ovation from fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton said the Pacers must remain focused on the task ahead.

“We did our job,” Haliburton said. “They did their job and won two at home, we did our job and won two at home.

“We understand the magnitude of game five and we’ll be prepared for that one.”

The Knicks were again without OG Anunoby, who injured a hamstring in game two to join key contributors Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic on the sidelines.

The strain was telling on Brunson, who is playing through a right foot injury. He connected on six of 17 attempts to score 18 points with three rebounds and five assists before checking out with two and a half minutes left in the third quarter.

With the contest out of hand and game five coming up at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, both coaches pulled their starters for the fourth quarter.

New York coach Tom Thibodeau would not point to injuries to explain the Knicks’s struggles – including a seven-for-37 performance from three-point range.

“Everyone’s got something – it’s the playoffs,” Thibodeau said. “Whether you lose by one or lose by 30, it’s a loss. You’ve got to respond.”

Indiana Pacers’s Ben Sheppard rebounds the ball over New York Knicks’s Shake Milton [Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports via Reuters]



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Chile’s Tabilo beats top-seeded Djokovic in massive upset at Italian Open | Tennis

Djokovic’s 6-2, 6-3 straight sets loss extends his tournament drought in 2024.

Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo has claimed the biggest win of his career by beating world number one Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-3 in the third round of the Italian Open in a match that lasted just 67 minutes.

Djokovic has won the tournament six times with his last title coming in 2022, but Tabilo was almost flawless on Centre Court on Sunday, breaking the top seed four times while not conceding a single break point.

“It’s incredible. I came on court just looking around and soaking it all in, trying to process everything. I’m trying to wake up right now,” Tabilo, 26, said.

The victory made Tabilo, who won a Challenger Tour tournament two weeks ago, the first Chilean in 17 years to beat a world number one since Fernando Gonzalez beat Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in 2007.

The result also means Djokovic, who made a double fault on match point, has failed to reach a single final in 2024 and has played only six matches on clay in the build-up to the French Open.

The Serbian had reached the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, but a premature exit in Rome could hamper his preparations for Roland Garros, where the year’s second Grand Slam begins on May 26.

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Kylian Mbappe confirms he will leave Paris Saint-Germain at end of season | Football News

Mbappe has so far won six Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups in his seven years at PSG, his hometown club.

French football star Kylian Mbappe says he will leave Paris Saint-Germain and end his “adventure” with the club in a few weeks.

“This is my last year at Paris Saint-Germain. … I will play my last match at the Parc des Princes this Sunday,” the 25-year old said in a video posted on the social media platform X on Friday.

PSG have already secured the Ligue 1 title, their 10th in the past 12 seasons, and will pick up the trophy after Sunday’s game against Toulouse, which will be their last of the campaign on home turf.

Luis Enrique’s side were eliminated from the Champions League this week by Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals, a 1-0 loss in Tuesday’s second leg at home sealing a surprise 2-0 aggregate defeat.

The defeat means Mbappe will not get the send-off he had hoped for in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1 and will end his seven-year spell at PSG without ever having won Europe’s elite club competition.

Mbappe informed the Qatari-owned PSG privately in February of his intention to depart when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

The 25-year-old has not said publicly, though, where he will be going next, but it appears certain that he is bound for Real Madrid.

“It’s a lot of emotions, many years where I had the chance and the great honour to be a member of the biggest French club, one of the best in the world,” Mbappe said.

“It allowed me to arrive here, to have my first experience in a club with a lot of pressure, to grow as a player, of course, by being alongside some of the best in history, some of the greatest champions,” he added.

“It’s hard, and I never thought it would be this difficult to announce that, … but I think I needed this, a new challenge, after seven years.”

Mbappe did not find the net in either leg of the Dortmund tie but has scored 43 goals in all competitions this season with 26 of those coming in Ligue 1.

He will still hope to add to his club record tally of 255 goals for PSG and win another medal in the French Cup final. Mbappe has so far won six Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and the now defunct League Cup twice in his seven years at his hometown team.

After Sunday’s game, PSG will complete their league campaign with away matches at Nice and at relegation-threatened Metz before Mbappe wraps up his career with the club in the French Cup final in Lille on May 25.



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NBA playoffs: Brunson guides NY Knicks’ win over Indiana Pacers | Basketball News

Brunson returned from a foot injury and led the Knicks to a 2-0 playoff series lead over the Pacers.

Jalen Brunson shrugged off injury to spark a sensational second-half fightback as the New York Knicks battled past the Indiana Pacers 130-121 to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven NBA playoff series on Wednesday.

New York talisman Brunson gave his team a huge scare after suffering a foot injury in the first quarter which forced him to sit out the remainder of the half at Madison Square Garden.

Indiana exploited Brunson’s absence to open up a 10-point advantage by half-time and were soon 12 points up in the third quarter after an early Andrew Nembhard layup.

But a limping Brunson – who returned at the start of the third quarter – led a stunning rally as the Knicks outscored Indiana 36-18 in the third to take a 99-91 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Knicks then dug deep to hold onto their advantage in the fourth, outscoring the Pacers 31-30 to close out a famous victory.

Brunson finished with 29 points and five assists while Donte DiVincenzo and OG Anunoby came up big with 28 points apiece.

Josh Hart added 19 points with 15 rebounds while Isaiah Hartenstein was huge defensively, with 12 rebounds, eight assists and 14 points.

“We found a way, that’s it,” said an exhausted Brunson. “For us it starts with our habits — we’ve talked about doing the little things from day one a little bit better, because you never know when they’re going to help you in a big game.

“It’s all about doing the little things well every single day, and we pride ourselves on that.”

The victory came at a cost though for the Knicks, who were already missing injured first-choice players Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic.

As well as the injury to Brunson on Wednesday, the Knicks saw another player injured with Anunoby limping out of the game in the third quarter with a hamstring problem.

Somehow the Knicks hung on to edge past the Pacers, with Brunson pouring in 14 fourth-quarter points and DiVincenzo adding eight points including two crucial three-pointers that helped keep Indiana at arm’s length.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau revealed the team were uncertain of whether Brunson would continue after missing the second quarter.

“We didn’t know if he was going to be able to go or not, but he found a way to get it done,” Thibodeau said.

Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana’s scorers with 34 points while Nembhard finished with 15 points and Pascal Siakam 14. Obi Toppin added 20 from the bench.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was ejected late in the fourth quarter after ranting at officials following a decision to overturn a double-dribble call against the Knicks’ Hartenstein.

Carlisle took aim at the officiating crew following the defeat, saying his team had been unfairly treated.

“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it all about the officials, but we deserve a fair shot,” Carlisle said. “There’s not a consistent balance and that’s disappointing. Give New York credit for the physicality that they’re playing with. But their physicality is rewarded and ours is penalized.”



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