The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 111-94 Thursday night to keep their season alive. The Knicks received strong showings from Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in the win and perhaps had a little help from an unusual source, too.
Prior to the game, a Knicks fan posted on Twitter that he "just paid a witch on Etsy to cast a spell to help us win game 5 tonight. I’m doing my part."
He added a screenshot of the online receipt.
The Knicks went on to win in impressive fashion, which obviously made Knicks superfan and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith happy.
After the victory, Stephen A. Smith quote Tweeted the fan who claimed to pay a witch and said “Thank you for your efforts.”
With the win, the Knicks cut the Pacers lead in the series to 3-2. Game 6 is scheduled for Saturday night in Indianapolis.
The Pacers vs. Knicks game has had plenty of craziness on and off the court.
During Game 4, sports broadcaster Pat McAfee was handed a microphone in the fourth quarter and shown on the video board. He delivered a harsh message to famous Knicks fans in attendance.
“Indianapolis, Indiana, we’ve got some bigwigs from the big city in the building. Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothée Chalamet is here,”McAfee said. “Let’s send these sons of bitches back to New York with their ears ringing. Let’s turn this [expletive] up!”
The crowd roared with its approval and the Pacers went on to win 130-121. However, not everyone in Indiana loved what McAfee had to say.
Singer and songwriter John Mellencamp took to Twitter to express his disappointment in McAfee for his comments.
“The Knicks/Pacers games have been very entertaining for anyone who likes basketball or sports. I attended Game 4 in Indianapolis,” Mellencamp posted in a statement. “‘Hoosier Hospitality’ ... I was embarrassed when somebody, under whose direction I don’t know, called out some of the people who had made the trip from New York to support their team -- and in turn, support our team.
“The audience booed these people. I’d say that was not Hoosier Hospitality. One could only say it’s poor, poor sportsmanship. I was not proud to be a Hoosier and I’ve lived here my entire life.”
John Mellencamp continued his statement and apologized to the Knicks and to the people McAfee singled out.
“On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior‚" Mellencamp said. “I’m sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown.”