NBA: Pacers Annihilate the Knicks 121-89
INDIANAPOLIS — Game 4 was unbearable to watch for a Knicks fan. It was like a gory scene from a horror movie for the New York Knicks, who lost by 32 points to the Pacers 121-89, tying the Eastern Conference semis series at 2-2. What happened? Everything was working for the Pacers, literally everything. On the contrary, everything went wrong for Tom Thibodeau's squad.
It was a disaster in the opening quarter, a sluggish, misfiring mess before rolling over during last night's bloodbath. Pacers started hot shooting beyond the arch, with steadfast transitions, outhustling the Knick's defense and scoring before they could even set up. It was a sloppy mess, and Coach Thibodeau did not call a timeout when the Pacers propelled to a 20-point lead early in the first quarter. Many were thinking, "Anytime now, coach." But nope, Thibodeau had his team weather the raging storm, but the forecast was unbearable as the Pacers retained their dominant lead. Pacer's star Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points in just 27 minutes, loving every minute of this Knicks massacre, and giving his team the confidence they needed to get back into this series, winning back-to-back.
Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson could barely connect on most shots, not even the awkward ones, which are his specialty. Despite a questionable foot injury resulting from Game 2, Brunson's struggles remained evident. Had Pacers' McConnell’s' lockdown defense early in the first quarter riled up the crowd and ultimately shut down Brunson? The Knicks' squad is beat up, but there is no excuse for losing by 32 points.
"We can talk about fresher legs, and you can give us all the pity that we want: Yeah, we're shorthanded, but that doesn't matter right now," Brunson said post-game. "We have what we have and we need to go forward with that. So there is no, 'We're shorthanded.' There is no excuse. There's no excuse whatsoever. If we lose, we lose. That's what that was."
Brunson finished up with 18 points on 6-for-17 shooting. The Knicks struggled to get in rhythm against Aaron Nesmith and Indiana's hounding defense. Brunson wasn't the only part of his squad who struggled, as they outworked and exhausted while uncharacteristically losing the energy and rebounding battles. They looked defeated since the first quarter. Even coach Thibodeau tossed in the white flag after taking out starters in the third quarter, entering Shake Milton and DaQuan Jeffries, which the coach rarely does.
The Knicks shot just 7-for-37 on 3-pointers (18.9 percent). The Villanova trio went a combined 1-for-13 from deep.
