Who is the X-factor for Pacers-Knicks Eastern Conference Finals?
The Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and the Pacers could be tight. Here are players who think they can break through the series and tilt it.
NEW YORK – He answered questions, reporters were scattered, causing Josh Hart to contemplate what had just happened.
Knicks sat in his locker, leaning forward with his elbows on his lap, his face buried in his hands. For a few minutes he fantasizedly stared ahead, probably dealing with how his team escaped a 14-point lead in the final three minutes.
During the first 44 minutes of the game, the Knicks matched the Indiana Pacers’ speed and tempo. And the first 44 minutes worked.
The Knicks took control of the middle part of the game, grabbing the lead at 8:20 in the second quarter, and at the end of regulation, Tyrese Halliburton’s unlikely game tying shot bouncing off the back rim, hanging in the air and hanging into the net, sending the game into excess time.
“We didn’t finish the game,” Hart told reporters early. “We didn’t go through that finish line. We threw the gas defensively. There was no strength or physicality there. Offensively, we were slower and a bit stagnant.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau concisely summed it up here in the interview room in the hallways of Madison Square Garden.
“You can never disappoint a security guard against them,” Thibodeau said. “Lead is not safe.”
These assessments from Hart and Thibodeau reveal the truth that has been boiled down under the collapse of New York. Ranked 26th in the half court, the Knicks are better off shattering the game, allowing them to attack Pacers when faced with physical transition defenses. Indiana wants to play fast, and if they spend 48 minutes at their speed, their enemies often suck the wind at the end of the game and try to do anything to stop the onslaught of the second half of the game.
This postseason alone, the Pacers won seven games within the last 48 seconds. The teams faced this situation, 3-1,679.
On Wednesday, the Knicks scored 69 points in the first half, almost tying the franchise record in half of their playoff games. New York set that mark last year in Game 5, the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Throughout the early part of Game 1, the Knicks scooped the boards, feeding players who took the court out of the outlet, producing a high percentage of appearances with rims or kickouts along the perimeter.
Essentially, they outperformed the Pacer – until they couldn’t.
In the second half of the fourth, as New York was trying to stick to the lead, the Knicks fell into gas, doubled and slowed the spin. Their play, especially in defense, suffered.
In the fourth quarter, New York allowed Indiana shooting guard Aaron Nesmith to drain five consecutive three. This was a team that was a pacer team, and ended the period deeply, earning 20 of the 30 points in the quarter. Mostly, the shot was an open look the Knicks couldn’t compete in in time.
In the final minutes, the Pacers played faster and more assertively. They closed fourth with a 31-14 run. Nesmith is a catalyst and it’s safe to question whether fatigue has been introduced to New York.
“Yeah, when he hits it, you have to be on high alert,” Knicks point guard Jalen Branson told reporters after the game. “I could do a better job finding him. I think he had one or two with me who started it. That’s not a way to close the game.”
This wild comeback in the NBA postseason has been a theme, and now Game 2 on Friday suddenly becomes essential for New York. But the Knicks are an experienced and cohesive team and are also embracing the spirit of coming back to these playoffs. But what became clear after Game 1 is that New York’s best chances don’t run with the pacer, but try to slow them down.
“That’s difficult,” Hart said. “We’re all disappointed with that, but the series isn’t over after one game.”
