Pacers Hit Mother Lode, Tie Series With Knicks

The New York Knicks faced a mother of a deficit after one period and it only got worse from there.

Mother’s Day produced a metropolitan massacre on the scoreboard at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, as the Indiana Pacers tied their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Knicks at two games apiece following a 121-89 shellacking on Sunday afternoon. Five different Pacers reached double-figures en route to equalizing, led by 20 for Tyrese Haliburton.

New York scored the first points of the game on an Isaiah Hartenstein drive but it all went downhill from there: the Pacers scored 14 of the next 16 to build a double-figure lead they never relinquished and the Knicks mustered only 14 total over the entire opening dozen. The deficit reached as high as 23 before the Knicks were able to at least somewhat stabilize the affair, but they never got closer than 28 in the second half.

With the forecast rendered bleak and a comeback long out of the question, both teams afforded their deeper units extended time, leading to Alec Burks pacing the Knicks with 20 points in defeat. Sunday marked only the seventh playoff loss by at least 30 points in franchise history and the first since 2012’s opening round in Miami.

The Knicks have proven more than capable of overcoming deficits: they have yet to lead a postseason game wire-to-wire but are still as close as they’ve ever been to the NBA Finals since their last visit in 1999. Championships, at least for now, were rudely awakened by the Pacers, who improved to a perfect 5-0 in Indianapolis this postseason.

A season defined by players stepping up in the wake of injuries is in legitimate danger of ending after the Knicks’ headliners failed to do so on Sunday: only two New Yorkers (Precious Achiuwa and Isaiah Hartenstein) posted a positive shooting percentage on multiple tries from the field. The afternoon proved to be yet another struggle for Jalen Brunson, who was 6-of-17 from the field, including misfires on each of his five three-point attempts. Compatriots Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart were a combined 4-of-19, all unable to cut into the massive lead.

The Knicks were particularly anemic from three-point rage, hitting only 7-of-37 … three coming from the arms of Miles McBride when the result was long decided. The resulting 18.9 percent success rate is the worst in Knicks playoff history with a minimum of 20 attempts.

Elsewhere in Indiana’s victorious box score, T.J. McConnell had a double-double off the bench (15 points, 10 assists), one of three Indianapolis reserves with at least 10 alongside Isaiah Jackson and former Knick Obi Toppin. Jackson was also one of six Pacers to pull in at least five rebounds, as the total led by Aaron Nesmith’s dozen, beat out the Knicks’ by nine.

Knotted at two apiece, the series returns to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

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