NEW YORK -- The Pacers held on to a tenuous lead for much of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but Jalen Brunson and the Knicks found a different gear in the fourth quarter to claim a 121-117 win on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers had to endure two questionable calls in the fourth quarter, a kicked ball by Aaron Nesmith and a moving screen by Myles Turner.

Game 2 of the series is 8 p.m. Wednesday, also at Madison Square Garden.

Here are four observations.

Pacers score: Game recap: Pacers fall to Knicks in Game 1 of NBA playoffs series

Jalen Brunson too much for Pacers in fourth

Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell and the Pacers made Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson work for everything he got in the first three quarters, but the rising star of these playoffs still outlasted them in the end with his fourth straight 40-point performance.

Brunson scored 43 points on 14 of 26 shooting and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone, helping the Knicks outscore the Pacers 39-30 in the period to put away a game they trailed most of the evening.

Brunson was 6 of 12 in the first half and already drawing fouls, hitting 6 of 6 free throws for 18 points. In the second half he turned it up a notch, scoring 25 on 8 of 14 shooting with 1 of 2 3-pointers and an 8 of 8 performance at the line.

"He's as elite of a one-on-one player as there is," McConnell said. "It's a collective group effort. He's playing at a really high level so we've gotta find ways to make it even tougher on him. You're not gonna shut a guy like that down. You just gotta make it really difficult."

Brunson became just the fourth player to score 40 points or more in four consecutive games. The previous three were Michael Jordan, Bernard King and Jerry West.

In their combined post-game press conference, Brunson's teammate -- and also his college roommate at Villanova -- Donte DiVincenzo kept needling him about the lofty company he was being mentioned with. Brunson said "Stop" at one point and maintained humility about it.

"I'm not going into a game thinking I need to score 40," Brunson said. "My mindset is to be aggressive and to make plays for myself and for others, get in the paint and see what's happening. I have confidence, I know I can score in the paint and I have confidence that my teammates are all moving and can get into positions where they can be successful as well."

Brunson's production indeed opened up opportunities for other. DiVincenzo scored 25 points on 10 of 17 shooting including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. He hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter including one with 40 seconds left that put the Knicks on top for good. Guard Josh Hart, also a Villanova teammate of theirs, scored 24 points and posted 13 rebounds.

The Knicks made 26 of 40 shots (65%) in the second half including 7 of 11 from 3-point range as the Knicks outscored the Pacers 72-62. In the 39-point fourth quarter, the Knicks made 13 of 20 field goals and 4 of 6 3-pointers and posted 1.45 points per possession.

"They have problems you gotta deal with," Carlisle said. "We'll have to look at all that stuff."

Pacers start strong on the boards, but fade

The Knicks were the best offensive rebounding team in the first round of the playoffs, so Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made it clear to his team all week that boxing out was going to be of critical importance and that leaking out in hopes of easy transition buckets would not be an option. The Knicks grabbed 37% of their offensive rebound opportunities against the 76ers and turned those into 19.2 second-chance points per game, also the most of any team in the first round.

The Pacers clearly listened and made sure they had bodies on any of the Knicks trying to crash the glass. They allowed just two offensive rebounds and three second-chance points in the first half while posting eight second-chance points of their own, winning the rebounding battle 24-21 before the break.

However the Knicks kept coming and that made for a dramatic turn of events in the second half. They outrebounded the Pacers 19-8 after the break and scored 13 second-chance points in the second half to the Pacers' 2, helping the Knicks outscore the Pacers 72-62 after halftime.

"This is New York's pattern," Carlisle said. "As the game goes on, they get stronger with rebounding and they crash harder and harder. We talked about it coming in. It's something that is a major factor. We had opportunities to come with balls we didn't come up with. In a game that is a one-possession game, it makes the difference."

Obi Toppin's between-the-legs dunk part of strong homecoming

Obi Toppin's first playoff game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden was an at times harsh welcome home. The Brooklyn native and lifelong Knicks fan who played his first three seasons for the Knicks was booed on several occasions in Monday night's series opener with friends and family in the stands.

He seemed to relish that rather than let it bother him, however. He hit his first 3-pointer and generally played his game. He scored 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting, and that included a between-the-legs dunk on a fast-break dunk in the third quarter.

"We see him do that all the time," Turner said. "He falls out of bed and does stuff like that. It juiced us up, obviously, but it's nothing new."

Game 1 showed how much the Pacers will rely on their depth while the Knicks tend to play a smaller number of players heavier minutes. The Pacers also got 18 points off the bench from McConnell and their bench outscored New York's 46-3. The Knicks had four starters play 42 minutes or more and the five starters' 118 points were more than the Pacers starters and bench combined.

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Isaiah Jackson made an impact off the bench

With rotations shrinking as they usually do in the playoffs, Rick Carlisle didn't use a backup center very much in the first series against the Bucks because the Bucks didn't use one either. Starting power forward Bobby Portis got most of the minutes at center when starer Brook Lopez was on the bench, so the Pacers felt comfortable using power forwards Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin on the floor together with one of them as the 5 man.

But the Knicks use two 7-foot centers -- Isaiah Hartenstein in the starting lineup and Mitchell Robinson off the bench -- so the Pacers couldn't afford to give up a size advantage with rebounding so critical in that series. Instead of using Jalen Smith, the backup 5 most of the season, Carlisle used Isaiah Jackson, a higher leaper with more energy though less outside shooting capability than Smith. Jackson played just 24 minutes against the Bucks, but had 13 minutes in Game 1 against the Knicks and gave Carlisle reason to play him more.

Jackson scored eight points on 4 of 6 shooting, finishing around the rim as he usually does, and he also grabbed five rebounds and blocked thre shots. He helped the Pacers play the Knicks close to even at the rim and around the lane.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jalen Brunson leads Knicks with 43 points in win over Pacers