There are two sides to every story. There are two sides to every coin. And there are two sides to every basketball game.
A lot has rightfully been made of what the Knicks did Sunday. They finally changed their starting lineup; they went into their bench more and used Landry Shamet and Delon Wright, staggered Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns more than they have for the majority of the postseason, and were able to leverage their better defense into some transition baskets.
But just as important as the things the Knicks did do were the things the Pacers didn’t do.
1. The Pacers didn’t go for the kill
After Tyrese Haliburton’s breakaway dunk with a little over three minutes left in the second quarter, the Pacers took what was at the time a commanding 20-point lead. With their home crowd louder than it had been all night, it seemed like they were just two quarters away from all but ending the Knicks’ season. But the Pacers got a little lackadaisical to end the half, and allowed the Knicks to cut the lead to just 13 before halftime.
They were able to grow the lead in the third quarter, and were back up by 15 with about four minutes left in the third quarter. But Deuce McBride had maybe the biggest minutes of his career, going on a 7-0 run by himself and cutting the lead to just eight with 54 seconds left in the quarter.
With both teams having come back from large deficits multiple times this postseason, the Pacers must be kicking themselves for not putting away a Knicks team that looked somewhat despondent in the first half.
2. The Pacers didn’t shoot well
Some of this is definitely a result of the Knicks playing better defenders, and in turn, playing, well, better defense. And maybe it was just the basketball gods evening out the shooting variance that was the incredible game one Aaron Nesmith performance. But the Pacers need to make shots.
Indiana has some solid defenders, and the Pacers aren’t as one-sided as some past offensive powerhouses. But their strength is, without a doubt, their high-octane offense. And when they don’t score at a high clip, they can struggle to win games.
Despite shooting 50.3% from the field, and 40.8% from three prior to game three, they shot just 44.2% from the field, and 20% from three, and they missed some very makeable shots. That, along with the incredible fourth quarter performance from Karl-Anthony Towns, played a big role in the Knicks coming back.
We may never see the kind of shooting performance we saw from Nesmith ever again, but we can, and likely should, expect their offense to be a bit better again going forward.
3. The Pacers didn’t attack Jalen Brunson
One thing teams have done repeatedly during Brunson’s tenure as a Knick is attack him. Brunson has been a terrific scorer and has grown into one of the best scorers in the league. But his defense remains subpar given his physical limitations. Teams know that to both tire him out and to take advantage of his size, they must attack him. And for the most part, the Pacers have followed that script—and have done so often and successfully.
But for some odd reason, the Pacers went away from that strategy on Sunday. For a few possessions spanning a few minutes, the Pacers not only didn’t attack him, they failed to involve him in any action. That was a double whammy for Indiana as they let Brunson catch a bit of a break, while also not being able to get mismatches, fouls, or easy looks.
This was confusing to see at the time as the Pacers pretty much let Brunson and the Knicks off the hook.
4. The Pacers didn’t use Obi Toppin enough
Toppin has his flaws, but he has developed into an integral part of what the Pacers do. Even in his limited minutes, he exemplifies a great understanding of the Pacers' offense and causes havoc with his movement, quick decisions, and respectable three-point shooting. Obviously, he can’t play big minutes against every opponent, given his weaknesses as a defender and rebounder against big teams. But against the Knicks, there’s an argument to be made that he should be playing more.
New York lacks the offensive creativity to continue punishing his defense, or rim protection, and while the Knicks’ double big man lineups would punish his rebounding, what he offers in terms of pace could outweigh that. And Sunday, that was even more so the case.
Single-game plus-minus stats don’t always mean much, but Toppin was a +19 in 14 minutes, which was fewer minutes than Tony Bradley. Toppin may not have won them the game, but the Knicks and their fans should be thankful that Rick Carlisle sat Toppin down the stretch.
As you can see below, even Pacers fans were left upset and confused at the decision.
Obi Toppin was a TEAM high +19 and didn’t see the 4th QTR — JOKE!
— Obi Muse (@ObiMuse) May 26, 2025
5. The Pacers didn’t double-team Karl-Anthony Towns
A lot of Towns’ fourth quarter minutes were played without Brunson, and with Josh Hart on the court. Yet Carlisle opted to play Towns straight up with very little help.
This was understandable at the beginning of the quarter as the Pacers still had a 10-point lead. He wanted to trust Myles Turner to keep Towns relatively in check without having to double off of anyone. But even after Towns started to get in a rhythm, the help never came for some reason. What ensued was an onslaught from Towns as he picked apart the Pacers' defense.
Whether it was a drive, a three off the catch, a ridiculous step back three as the pick and roll ball handler, or a traditional post up, Towns had it all going. At some point, they have to make someone else beat them.
Fortunately for the Knicks, the Pacers did not.