The New York Knicks had a heartbreaker last night against the Indiana Pacers, losing 138-135 in OT. They had a comfortable 14-point cushion with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, but even that was not enough. Jalen Brunson emerged to score a game-high 43 points, allowing the Knicks to stay in striking distance. Unfortunately, he ran into foul trouble issues and was forced to watch from the sidelines down the stretch. This loss was eerily similar to the infamous 1995 playoff comeback by the Pacers. Next, the Knicks need to deal with questions about their capacity to protect a lead and avoid digging an even deeper hole in the series.
With 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Brunson had to leave the game. His fifth personal foul meant his exit to the bench. His departure would turn out to be crucial, as the Knicks failed to stop the Pacers’ early charge. The team had been playing well for most of the game, showcasing strong defensive and offensive strategies, but faltered during crucial moments.
Even with Brunson doing everything short of winning by himself—completing amazing, clutch-time plays late in games during the entire postseason—the Knicks were unable to win. In the waning seconds, they found themselves in a primary situation with a chance to even the contest. Both Brunson and his other teammate Karl-Anthony Towns missed three-point shots with ten seconds left on the clock.
Towns ended the evening with 35 points and 12 rebounds, and his sterling play set the tone for the team’s blowout victory. Yet, he admitted that lapses in focus spelled their undoing.
“There’s a lot of things we did good and we put ourselves in position to win. We played 46 good minutes. Those two minutes [are] where we lost the game, and that’s on all of us.” – Karl-Anthony Towns
The shorthanded Knicks surprisingly controlled the game almost wire-to-wire. What really stood out was their collaboration as they helped create a deafening positive buzz at Madison Square Garden. Their inability to get defensive stops in those last few minutes gave the Pacers a chance to pull off an improbable comeback.
Josh Hart pointed out the Knicks’ defensive deficiencies that killed them in pivotal stretches of the contest.
“Defensively, we let off the gas. The intensity and physicality weren’t there,” – Josh Hart
Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers feasted on these mistakes, acting as a maestro as he orchestrated his team’s comeback and back into it. Haliburton has been known for his efficiency in clutch situations, hitting pivotal shots that ultimately shifted the momentum in favor of Indiana.
And as the clock ticked down, it looked like the Knicks would hold on to a victory, avoiding defeat in a game they certainly deserved to lose. The Pacers’ comeback reverberated an iconic moment from Indiana’s history in 1995. At the time, Reggie Miller scored eight points in a span of just nine seconds at Madison Square Garden, leaving all Knicks fans with a memory that continues to haunt them today.
The loss leaves the Knicks in a precarious position. Right now, they should be bracing themselves for Game 2 of their first round series against the Pacers. They’ll have to be, as the onus now falls on them to regroup and not find themselves heading to Indianapolis down 2-0. The squad needs to rethink its gameplan and come to grips with their closing game performance, otherwise they’ll find it near impossible to overturn this series.
Looking forward, the next game will be important for both teams. For the Knicks, it is a chance to find and build on their weaknesses and leakages and focus on what will make them strong. They need to take a stand on defensive discipline. Making sure players like Brunson are there for the key moments is as important.
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