Pacers bear most blame for shocking Game 1 loss to Knicks

Madison Square Garden has hosted some of the most exciting games of the 2024 NBA Playoffs thus far, and on Monday night, the Indiana Pacers put up a hell of a fight against the New York Knicks to open their second-round matchup and revive the old rivalry of the two franchises. In the end, it was the Knicks who snatched the victory, 123-119, after dominating the Pacers by nine points in the fourth quarter.

For the Pacers, there is nothing to worry about after this performance. They kept pace with the Knicks, even leading for much of the second half, and against a raucous Garden crowd, the team put together a victory-worthy performance. That would have helped Indiana set the tone for the series, but losing the first game isn’t the end of the world.

Still, one couldn’t help but feel like the Pacers missed a major opportunity. The last time the Pacers faced the Knicks in the playoffs (2013), they won Game 1, which paved the way for them to finish off New York in six games. Indiana has proven it can compete with New York in a hostile environment, but these players need to step up on Wednesday if they are to truly steal home-court advantage.

The 2023-24 season has become Tyrese Haliburton’s official coming-out party. Haliburton, with the way he led the Pacers to the NBA In-Season Tournament Finals, won the hearts of many. He was hailed as the man to succeed Chris Paul for the Point God moniker, and it was clear why. He was a 20-10 nighttime threat who elevated his teammates with his nearly unmatched court vision, accentuated by his threat to score off the rebound.

Haliburton has never been an explosive threat from the perimeter to the rim; he doesn’t have the quickest steps, and when he got to the paint, he didn’t often make contact. He preferred to finish with finesse, indulging in his dangerous floater game and preferring to set up his teammates.

But as the Pacers move closer and closer to the playoffs, he needs to be more aggressive in chasing his shot. Tyrese Haliburton cannot be a passenger on the bus he is supposed to drive; he absolutely cannot shoot just six shots on the night to finish with six points in a game where his point guard, Jalen Brunson, scored 43 points on 26 shots.

Now, some of Haliburton’s passivity can be attributed to the Knicks’ defense. Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo wore his jersey for most of the game, and they fought diligently for screens to force the Pacers guard down. They took away his three-point threat, and Haliburton didn’t seem comfortable with his jump shot, leading him to pass up a few scoring opportunities.

The difference when TJ McConnell was on the field was palpable. McConnell, in addition to picking up the pace on every stop, was actually comfortable taking what the Knicks defense was giving. As a result, McConnell scored 18 points off the bench on 9-16 shooting from the field. In fact, McConnell tied Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner for a team high in shot attempts, and the Pacers were a +9 during his minutes.

It made all the difference for the Pacers when their point guard actually looked to shoot the basketball. Haliburton may not be a shooting shooter by nature, but he needs to harness a greater level of aggression for the Pacers to truly earn his minutes.

Pacers lost on the sidelines

It’s important to note that the illegal screen call at the end of the game essentially sealed the Pacers’ loss. They took a risk by challenging the call on the court, but the decision stood and the Knicks had a golden chance to put the game away with two free throws. Andrew Nembhard then made things worse by fouling Jalen Brunson before the ball went in, and the Pacers faced an insurmountable four-point deficit soon after.

But the Pacers lost the game by the margin before that; they allowed Brunson to feel more and more comfortable as the game progressed, and he had no trouble carving up Indiana’s defense, especially in the fourth quarter. In the final frame, Brunson scored 21 points, revealing the Pacers’ difficulties in containing the point of attack.

Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith need to be better from here on out; Nesmith, who has had quite a bit of trouble shooting the basketball this postseason, needs to bring his A-game if the Pacers were to survive the Knicks’ perimeter-based offense.