NBA
Knicks Need MSG Return After Game 4 Loss
The New York Knicks can’t wait to get back home, especially after Sunday’s disastrous Game 4 loss on the road to the Indiana Pacers.
It’s clear through four games how much of a role homecourt advantage has played in the series, but the Knicks are still in control with two of the remaining three games at Madison Square Garden.
“Nothing is like the Garden,” Isaiah Hartenstein said after Sunday’s loss. “We have to really get back to playing our basketball, coming back to playing for the fans like that. Because the way we played, especially today, was not respectful to the fans and how they support us.”
The past two games saw a lack of swagger that the Knicks played with when they had the crowd on their side. In this series, they can still win if they defend home court, but the Knicks are going to have to learn how to win outside of the Big Apple if they want to go the distance.
That’s why it may not be time to push the panic button, but it could be time to identify it. Because if they cannot win on the road, they must win at home if they want to get to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.