Pacers vs Knicks Game One Recap
After a huge back-and-forth game, the Knicks defeated the Pacers by a score of 121-117. The Pacers lead mainly by at least a five-point margin, while the Knicks would try to make runs to tie it constantly. Everything was looking good for the Pacers as around ten and a half minutes left, T.J. McConnell's shot put the score at 94-85, ending Jalen Brunson's alleged rest early. After he came back, the Knicks went on an 8-0 run to tie the game, then with 4:27 remaining, he scored seven baskets in a 9-0 run to give New York a 113-109 lead after Indiana had pulled ahead 109-104. Just like he did in a comeback to defeat the 76ers in the previous round, DiVincenzo shot from behind the arc to take the lead, and the Pacers moved up 115-113 before Brunson knotted it.
In the end, even with all the fastbreak and bench points the Pacers converted on, it was too much Brunson and Josh Hart down the stretch. Hart was being his usual scrappy self, making all the hustle plays with offensive rebounds and pushing the ball in transition, drawing fouls constantly. Then there was Jalen Brunson, who continues to explode, especially late in games, as he has his fourth 40-point game in the playoffs. The Pacers played great defense on him, and it just didn’t seem to matter as he made tough shot after tough shot.
The key to beating the Knicks is consistently doing the little things, like rebounding, playing with pace, and limiting Brunson’s shot diet. The Pacers have the best bench on overall offense in the league, but they have to get more out of their best player, Tyrese Haliburton. He only finished with six points on six shots, which is just not gonna cut it. It’s definitely harder with all the long perimeter defenders the Knicks have, but he has to think score first against a team like this. He is too valuable not to take at least fifteen shots, regardless of whether his teammates have it going. Overall, it’s a heartbreaking loss for the Pacers when they were up for the majority of the game and in the fourth quarter late specifically, so letting this one slip away on the road is a hard pill to swallow.
