The New York Knicks are in serious trouble after losing their second straight game at Madison Square Garden. Now, with the team down 0-2 heading to Indiana, chances are stacked against the Knicks to make a comeback, but Karl-Anthony Towns believes his team can beat the odds.
"What I told y'all about with the word history? I'm not here to repeat it, we're here to make it," said Towns. "If I've learned anything, especially last year, as quick as you win two games is as quick as you can lose two games."
It was a bitter loss on Friday night for the Knicks (114-109), who allowed the Indiana Pacers to shoot 51.8% from the field. Meanwhile, Indiana was on fire, and their defense was much improved after Game 1. In NBA history, 430 out of 465 series were won by the team that took a 2-0 lead to start the series. As the higher seed, the Knicks were at home in the losses, meaning they now have to face the prospect of two must-win games in hostile territory.
The mood was understandably somber in the locker room, and Knicks fans were completely depressed, knowing their season was in grave jeopardy. Fortunately, Karl-Anthony Towns was level-headed after the defeat, and he even mentioned learning from experience.
What Towns was referring to is last year's NBA playoffs, back when he was with the Timberwolves alongside Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. He helped take them to the Western Conference Finals in an impressive show of dominance, but the Mavericks humbled them in the series after winning the first three games.
Towns learned in that ordeal just how fragile momentum and control are during a 7-game series, and things can flip on a dime for the team that loses focus or makes any kind of mistake.
The Knicks learned this lesson themselves in last year's series against the Pacers. They won the first two games at home before losing the next two on the road. The Knicks would lose the series after failing to win a single road game, and it prompted the series of changes that assembled their final roster today.
This year, with Towns and OG Anunoby as Knicks, most experts favored them in the Conference Finals, but the Pacers are giving them some fierce resistance. Thanks to hot shooting, hero ball from Pascal Siakam, and clutch shot-making from Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers have taken a commanding lead in the series and are now just two wins away from the NBA Finals.
The Knicks will have two days to adjust, but it remains to be seen if they can find a formula to slow the Pacers down. So far, nothing has worked to stop the bleeding, but Towns will not allow his team to stop trying, and he will take charge if he feels it's necessary.
With his season on the line, Towns is refusing to abandon faith because he has seen firsthand how teams can bounce back and win a series after a concerning loss or two. In this case, the Knicks still have time to turn things around, but if they don't win Game 3, then the series is effectively over and the season can get marked as yet another failure for New York.
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