Game 1 was crushing. Game 2 was depressing.
Both had the same results: Home losses to start this Eastern Conference finals.
Wednesday, the Knicks couldn’t close out a 14-point lead in the final 2:39. Friday night, they were sloppy, defensively soft and didn’t play nearly well enough to win.
Their late rally fell short, and now the Knicks find themselves in a 2-0 hole following a 114-109 loss to the Pacers at the Garden.
Jalen Brunson’s deep 3-pointer was off with a chance to tie and Myles Turner iced the game at the free throw line.
But, really, this was a poor performance from the Knicks in a must-have game. Karl-Anthony Towns was a minus-16 in 27 minutes and was benched for most of the fourth quarter.
The Knicks starters were again shredded at the start of each half, and on a night that Tyrese Haliburton only shot 5-of-16 from the field, it didn’t matter. Pascal Siakam crushed the Knicks to the tune of 39 points.
Game 3 is Sunday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Brunson had 36 points to lead the Knicks, Towns and Mikal Bridges added 20 apiece and OG Anunoby had 16. Mitchell Robinson contributed six points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Haliburton tallied 14 points and 11 assists for the Pacers.
The Knicks now face long odds to reach the NBA Finals. Only six teams in NBA playoff history have lost the first two games at home and rallied to overcome it.
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The Knicks have been a good road team, winning five of their six contests away from the Garden in the postseason. They are a very underwhelming 3-5 at MSG in the playoffs.
It was yet another slow start for the Knicks starters, mirroring their postseason together. The Pacers raced out to a 19-9 lead, forcing Thibodeau to make a change. He inserted Robinson first, and then Miles McBride. The game flipped. The Knicks closed the first quarter on a 17-5 run.
Robinson entered with 5:19 left in the first quarter and stayed on the floor until there was 1:52 remaining in the half. With him, the Knicks were 13 points better than the Pacers. He had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in a very active half.
At halftime, the Knicks led by three, behind Brunson’s 17 points. Towns had 12, all in the second quarter.
The Knicks had no answer for Siakam, who scored 21 of the Pacers’ first 31 points, and 23 at the break. Haliburton was 1-of-7 shooting in the first half. It was a sloppy half. Neither team really took care of the ball, the two sides combining for 15 turnovers, eight by the Knicks.
That momentum they built up quickly vanished in the third quarter, as Thibodeau stuck with his starters. Again, the Pacers had their way with them, quickly retaking the lead. They outscored the Knicks 15-7 in the early part of the period. Brunson’s nine points in the quarter helped the Knicks get back to even entering the fourth.
With Brunson out at the beginning of the final period, the Pacers pushed the lead back to nine by scoring on their first five possessions. The last two of those were wide open 3-pointers by Ben Sheppard and Siakam.
