The New York Knicks were fighting for their lives in Game 2 on Friday night, desperately needing a win after falling apart and losing Game 1 despite having a massive lead in the final minutes.

Jalen Brunson had a monster game in Game 1 despite the loss, finishing with 43 points while carrying the Knicks on offense for much of the night. That didn't change much in Game 2, as the superstar point guard scored 36 points to go with 11 assists.

To end the third quarter, Brunson fooled Andrew Nembhard with a nifty up-and-under move to get to the rim for an easy deuce.

Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith have been tabbed as the two primary defenders on Brunson in this series, but they haven't been able to contain the recent All-NBA selection at all. Brunson has had his way with the Pacers defense and has given them fits throughout the first two games.

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Despite Brunson's excellence, the Knicks still have not been able to keep up with a red-hot Pacers team. Indiana survived a late Knicks run to get a 114-109 win in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead. Now, the Knicks have their backs against the wall heading back to Indiana for Games 3 and 4.

The Knicks will need more heroics from Brunson if they're going to pull off a comeback that seems near impossible at the moment. The Pacers are playing with a ton of confidence and are getting contributions from all over the roster. In Game 1, Tyrese Haliburton and Nesmith both came through in the clutch, while Pascal Siakam came up big with a monster performance in Game 2.

While Brunson has been excellent, he has been missing some of those complementary performances from the rest of his team. Karl-Anthony Towns had a very tough game in Game 2 and was benched for a long stretch of the fourth quarter until Mitchell Robinson suffered an ankle injury. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges have also not been poor, but they have struggled a bit and been quiet when the Knicks need them to come through.

Still, the onus falls on Brunson if the Knicks are going to come back and make this a series. With performances like this one, New York still has a chance to win any game no matter where it is played.