A couple of weeks ago the Knicks won the opening two games of their semifinal series at Boston. Nearly 100% of the national conversation centered on what the Celtics weren’t doing, or what they could and probably would do better eventually. Even up 2-0, the Knicks were merely a sidekick to the only character that mattered, the defending champs. But the Celtics were already in too deep; a sweep in New York might have saved them, but their split was a mere stay of execution.
Last night the Pacers finished winning the opening two games of the conference finals at Madison Square Garden, 114-109. Let’s not repeat the mistake of oversight people made with the Knicks last round. To center exclusively on what they are (or aren’t) doing inevitably leads to some warped perspectives. The Knicks have a lot going for them. Unfortunately, none of it’s translated to a win.
Indiana doesn’t have an answer for Jalen Brunson, at all; he’s been the best player through two games, last night scoring a pretty efficient 36 to go along with 11 dimes. The Knicks should have won Game 1 (you may have heard) and could have won Game 2. In the first half their defense kept the potent Pacers under wraps. And yet . . . and yet.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a strange night. 20 and seven rebounds is a bit under his usual output, until you notice he only played 28 minutes — and not because of foul trouble. This was the biggest “something is different” of the night for New York. Their big offseason acquisition, the player whose addition locked this team into this roster for a while, played 28 minutes in the biggest game of the season so far, one that was close most of the way. If that seems weird, it is. It really is.
Excluding the season finale, a meaningless but bizarre game where Tom Thibodeau played Towns and Brunson both 30 minutes — suggesting it mattered — while also playing P.J. Tucker 27 and Delon “Dorrell” Wright 13 — suggesting it didn’t — KAT hadn’t played as few as 28 minutes in more than two months. Note Towns’ minutes and the margin of victory (or defeat) in the games he played 28 or fewer minutes:
* In mid-March, Towns played 28 minutes in a 29-point win in Sacramento
* A few weeks before that, he played 29 in a 37-point loss at Cleveland
* Two weeks prior, he played 28 in a 27-point drubbing in Boston
* Two weeks prior, he played 28 in a 23-point romp over Sacramento
* A month before that, he saw 27 in an 11-point victory at New Orleans
* Three weeks before then, he played 25 in a 33-point blowout over New Orleans
* Two weeks prior, he played 25 in 28-point destruction of Washington
* In the season opener, Towns played 24 minutes in a 23-point loss at Boston
The Pacers biggest lead all night was 10, and in the final minute the Knicks cut it as low as one and had the ball late down three. And yet Towns was on the bench for a lot of it, something we can see we didn’t see much during the regular-season; then, the only thing keeping him off the floor 30+ minutes was a game being a blowout. So what was it Thibodeau didn’t like last night?
Well, there are two ends of the floor, and while KAT was a -20 in his minutes Mitchell Robinson was a +6 in his, continuing to show a mastery of plus/minus dynamics that’d put Duracell to shame. In the second half the tempo kept picking up speed, getting closer and closer to Indiana’s vibe; when you’re behind and everything around you’s gaining velocity, you have to stop hemorrhaging points — there’s no fighting the good fight if you bleed out.
Ironically, the Pacers were the team that leaned heavy on their starters tonight; all five played 30+ minutes, versus three for the Knicks. Per usual, the Pacers still went deeper into their bench, with four reserves playing double-digit minutes. They’re like one of those movies with an ensemble cast — no one lead actor or actress, but even the small roles have you going “Oh, wow, that’s \[big-name Hollywood type\]!” Ben Sheppard and T.J. McConnell could both ride the subway all day and go unrecognized, but there was no missing their limited concentrated contributions.
Rick Carlisle picked the perfect time to employ Hack-A-Mitch, as the fourth quarter was nearing the time when playoff comebacks usually begin. There’s something definitely deflating about seeing your team stuck putting up binary points every possession, all 1s and 0s, while Peter Pan and the Neverland kids keep dropping 2s and 3s to bump up their lead. The Pacers have found Knick weaknesses to attack over and over: Josh Hart when he’s stuck guarding Pascal Siakam; Brunson and/or Towns on defense; Mitch’s foul shooting. Two games in, how many clear and present Pacer flaws have been exposed and exploited?
Believe it or not, that’s four consecutive Pacer playoff wins over the Knicks and their third straight at the Garden. Meanwhile, the Knicks head into Sunday’s Game 3 losers of their last nine postseason games at Market Square Arena Conseco Fieldhouse Bankers Life Fieldhouse Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It’s feels like if this is going to become a series, they’ll have to sweep the next two games. A split is just a stay of execution.
Quoth XTREE: “They are ten . . . We are seven.” On Sunday it’s gonna more like they are 20,010 and we are seven. Want something to hang your hat on? The Knicks were one of the league’s best road teams this season. They’re 5-1 away from home this postseason. They can’t win or lose the series next game; all they can do is win Game 3. So go do that, yes? And then we’ll chat some more.