The Indiana Pacers season is on the brink after an embarrassing blowout loss to the New York Knicks in game six by a final score of 121-91.
A polar opposite performance from the 121-89 win. So that’s what it feels like to watch the team you cover be utterly destroyed in a playoff game.
But really it was worse than how New York lost. The Knicks lost because they had no lift on their jumpers and couldn’t make a shot as they looked exhausted and worn out on the short turnaround between games 3 and 4 after weeks of heavy minute loads in the playoffs. The Pacers lost because they got out-worked in every facet of the game, refused to put a body on the Knicks as they dominated the glass, and had no excuse or reason to play with so little force and effort in a critical playoff game on the road.
“Very poor effort, obviously. Lost every quarter. Got annihilated on loose balls and rebounds. Gave up 20 offensive rebounds and 29 more shots,” Rick Carlisle said after the game. “We all own it but very embarrassing … and a hard lesson.”
They lost their composure in the first quarter when the Knicks made their initial run and never truly recovered. They had more turnovers in this game then they have had in any playoff game in this run with 15 with so many being unforced errors.
“When things are going bad, we just have to do a better job of coming better together as a group,” Tyrese Haliburton said. “I felt we were a little frenzied today. Obviously the Garden is a great environment and they have a great fanbase, but we just have to do a better job of coming together as a group. … That’s starts with me as a leader.”
Haliburton faded out of this game like Marty McFly fading away from existence. Much like game one, he allowed the Knicks to remove him from the equation far too easily. Miles McBridge picked him up full court and face guarded him without the ball and too often Haliburton ceded the in-bounds pass to a teammate with little resistance, simply pointing to a teammate, and then never saw the ball return to him or made enough of an effort to get the ball. He had just 13 points on 9 shots, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
“I need to watch film to really give you an answer on that. It’s part of the ebbs and flows of every game, sometimes you’re just trying to feel the game out,” Haliburton said of what he attributed his poor performance. “But I just didn’t do what I was supposed to do today, and I’ll be better in game six.”
It’s one thing to feel out the first half of a regular season game in January while you deal with a different coverage than expected, not look for your shot until the third quarter and another to approach a playoff game that way. He’s lacked aggression in both opening games of the two playoff series and now in a critical game five while feeling things out and never figuring out how to insert himself in the moment until the game’s long been lost if at all.
It’s disappointing after he had back-to-back 30+ point performances and then scored 20 in only 28 minutes of the blowout game three win, seeming to find the needed aggression over an extended stretch. He’s being called out nationally after this barf fest and for good reason after that game. He can’t let himself become that passive and just throw away a playoff game.
It’s his first playoffs and he’s battled through injuries during it and delivered multiple impressive moments but he simply can’t have these games where you’d be forgiven if you thought he was on the bench for 90% of it with how little he was involved offensively.
“I just gotta do a better job of being aggressive. I think if you go back to Game 1, I said the same thing after Game 1,” Haliburton said. “It’s more on me than on what anyone else is doing. I will fix that next game.”
The trouble is that he shouldn’t need to re-learn that lesson. The aggression can’t relapse back into passivity every week or two in the playoffs. How he responds in game six is crucial and to his credit he has backed up his “I’ll be better” line after his bad games during this run.
The biggest issue of the night for the Pacers though was how little force the entire team played with on the glass as the Knicks got every loose ball and Isaiah Hartenstein for a good portion of the game had more offensive rebounds by himself (12 total in the game) than the Pacers had defensive rebounds total. Completely embarrassing to see a team shoot 101 times while the Pacers attempted just 72 shots. Impossible to even give yourself a chance at a win like that.
Myles Turner got out-worked and out-muscled constantly on the glass. While he was forced to help on numerous drives that left the paint open for rebounds, he got caught in no-man’s land far too often where he wasn’t close enough to adequately contest a shot but still left room for Hartenstein to come in and clean up the glass. When he was in position for a boxout, he wasn’t able to put a body on him or keep him off the ball too often.
The rebounding problem isn’t only on Turner. The Pacers have to be a team that gang-rebounds, always have been, and too often multiple Pacers were just caught ball-watching while Knicks ran right by them on their way to rebounds. Getting beat 53-29 on the glass overall just isn’t going to give the Pacers any chance at success. The lack of rebounds took away the Pacers ability to get out and run with any consistency.
Turner did hit three consecutive 3-pointers to start the second half, all from the same spot on three straight possessions that briefly cut the Knicks lead to 7 but inside the arc he committed two awful turnovers while attempting to take advantage of mismatches among his four total. He finished with 16 points (6 of 12), 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
After the Pacers cut the lead to seven, they fell apart despite having numerous opportunities to continue to cut into the lead. They ended up scoring just one point over the next 7 minutes after Turner’s third 3.
This was the sequence following cutting the lead to seven and was the nail in the coffin for any potential run:
- Nembhard lost ball turnover on a dribble out of bounds, Knicks score on the other end
- Nembhard makes one of two free throws.
- Pacers block two shots on Knicks next possession but can never get a rebound. Josh Hart gets a layup on Knicks fourth shot attempt.
- Nembhard misses open 15-footer. Pacers get a stop.
- Turner turnover. Nembhard blocks Hart.
- Siakam called for palming. McBride 3.
- Turner missed open middy. Brunson 3. Knicks up 16. Timeout Carlisle. The Pacers still wouldn’t score for another three minutes as the lead for the Knicks kept growing.
Pascal Siakam got some things going in the second half but when the Knicks went small with Deuce McBride in the starting lineup, they needed Siakam to make them pay for going small with a big game whether they cross matched him with Hartenstein or kept Josh Hart on him. It took him awhile to fully get going though he finished with 22 points and the Pacers were only outscored by two points in his 33 minutes. Meaning they were -28 in his 15 minutes off the floor.
The bench wasn’t able to continue positive momentum early in the first quarter or stop the bleeding in the third when they came into the game. This was a rough game for both TJ McConnell (-19) and Obi Toppin (-25). Neither got much going offensively and neither were able to do much defensively.
Probably shouldn’t take me this long to mention Jalen Brunson’s 44 points but he completely dominated and the Pacers defense was terrible at making his life difficult in this one. Nesmith picked up an early foul and Carlisle went with Nembhard on him for far too long despite Brunson having the utmost confidence when he is the defender. No matter the defender the team did a poor job of actually helping when Brunson got in the paint unlike in game four.
The Pacers have a lot to fix to be better in game six and give themselves a chance to redeem themselves in a potential game seven at Madison Square Garden. They’ll have two days to look themselves in the mirror after that embarrassing performance on many levels. This season has been awesome to this point, it’s been fantastic to have competitive playoff basketball and memorable moments but no matter what happens over the weekend the Pacers can’t end the season with such little effort and without a fight. Leave it all on the floor. This will be yet another first for this young team as they play in their first playoff game facing elimination.
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