Knicks-Pacers: 5 takeaways from Pacers' decisive Sport 4 victory – NBA.com

Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers appear to be their top-speed selves once more, whereas the Knicks' protection falters in Indiana's Sport 4 win.
John Schuhmann
Indiana holds New York to simply 14 factors within the 1st quarter and by no means appears again, enhancing to 5-0 at dwelling within the playoffs.
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INDIANAPOLIS — For the primary time within the 2024 playoffs, the New York Knicks performed a recreation with none drama. That was unhealthy information for the Knicks, who have been routed 121-89 by the Indiana Pacers in Sport 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday.
The Knicks simply didn’t have it. The Pacers did, and a 29-7 run gave them a 23-point lead late within the first quarter. New York was by no means inside 15 after that, and Indiana cruised to a 32-point victory.
Listed below are some notes, quotes, numbers and movie because the Pacers evened the sequence at two video games apiece.
1. The slowest of gradual begins for the Knicks
First quarters haven’t been good for the Knicks in these playoffs. Previous to Sunday, they’d good numbers within the different three quarters however had been outscored by 11.7 points per 100 possessions within the opening 12 minutes. With that, they’d trailed seven of their 9 playoff video games by double digits.
This, in fact, was the Knicks’ worst first quarter of the bunch. They scored on the sport’s first possession, however scored only one extra time on their subsequent 10 journeys down the ground. Wide-open shots didn’t join, free throws have been missed and drives have been contested.
The Pacers aren’t an excellent defensive group, however they have been adequate on Sunday. Aaron Nesmith received the Jalen Brunson project for the second straight recreation and didn’t give the Knicks’ level guard something simple.
All through this sequence, the Pacers have refused to offer the Knicks a Brunson vs. Haliburton matchup on that finish of the ground. Key to that has been Nesmith’s willingness to struggle by screens and get again in entrance of Brunson. From there, he’s typically been capable of disrupt Brunson’s dribble.

All these empty possessions on the Knicks’ finish of the ground allowed the Pacers to do what they do finest.
2. Make or miss, the Pacers will run
The Pacers are the final group you need to play if you don’t have your legs. For one, they persistently push the ball in transition. With all these stops within the first quarter on Sunday got here many transition alternatives the place the Knicks couldn’t sustain.
Heck, the Pacers didn’t want an actual cease to attain shortly. Their first factors of the sport got here on a transition layup after a missed free throw on the opposite finish of the ground:

Per Synergy monitoring, these have been the primary of the Pacers’ 38 transition factors on Sunday. That’s their excessive for the playoffs and the second most the Knicks have allowed all season (92 complete video games).
With Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell, the Pacers have three guards who will push the ball, penetrate and create benefits. However this group additionally strikes the ball so effectively, making it particularly arduous to maintain up if the defensive power is missing.
Just a little later within the first quarter, the Pacers had a five-pass transition possession the place Tyrese Haliburton gave the ball up early and finally received it again for a wide-open 3-pointer:

That was the story all afternoon. The Pacers shot higher (14-for-31 from 3-point vary vs. the Knicks 7-for-37) principally as a result of they received higher photographs.
3. Level guards trending in reverse instructions
Jalen Brunson one way or the other returned from a foot damage in Sport 2 to attain 24 factors within the second half. However over the 2 video games in Indiana, he’s shot 16-for-43 (37%), together with simply 2-for-11 from 3-point vary.
On Sunday, his first couple of misses have been simply off the mark. However finally, seven of his 11 misses have been brief.
In fact, he wouldn’t admit to having much less carry or burst since he harm his foot and wasn’t on the damage report earlier than Sport 4.
“I’m advantageous,” he stated. “I’m advantageous.”
Haliburton has additionally been banged up, however not like his counterpart, his numbers are trending up. After scoring simply six factors on 2-for-6 capturing in Sport 1, he’s averaged 29.7 on 55% over the previous three.
The Pacers’ tempo and ball motion have gotten him some nice appears, however he additionally closed the primary half with a tricky stepback 3-pointer over Donte DiVincenzo:

Each recreation in a playoff sequence is totally different and Brunson ought to get a carry from the Madison Sq. Backyard crowd with the sequence heading again to New York for Sport 5. However the play of the 2 All-Star level guards has been trending within the Pacers’ favor.
4. Knicks’ protection not adequate
League-wide effectivity has been decrease within the playoffs (111.9 factors scored per 100 possessions) than it was within the common season (114.5). However the Knicks have now allowed 7.4 extra per 100 within the postseason (119.8, 15th of 16 teams) than they did within the common season (112.4, ninth). Once they’ve gained, they’ve principally gained with offense, with offensive rebounding being a giant a part of that.
They’ve performed two good offensive groups. The Sixers ranked sixth offensively earlier than Joel Embiid’s prolonged absence, and the Pacers had the second-most environment friendly offense in NBA historical past. However Indiana has scored more efficiently on this sequence than it did within the common season or its first-round sequence towards the Antetokounmpo-less Bucks.
The Knicks’ protection regresses with out OG Anunoby, who suffered a strained hamstring in Sport 2. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau stated Anunoby traveled with the group to Indianapolis however had carried out “simply pool work” earlier than Sport 4. Since his arrival, New York is 26-5 with Anunoby and 13-16 with out him.
However the protection wasn’t excellent (118.3 points allowed per 100 possessions) in Anunoby’s 320 minutes in these playoffs. And whether or not he performs or not, the Knicks have to be higher on that finish of the ground.
“It’s not simply OG,” Thibodeau stated. “OG was out for a great chunk of the season, in order that’s no excuse. Simply get it carried out.”
5. Knicks’ starters get some early (and wanted) relaxation
Thibodeau will not be one to concede defeat early. Over Jalen Brunson’s two seasons with the Knicks (and previous to Sunday), there have been 63 losses the place he was wholesome sufficient to play the fourth quarter. And in solely a type of 63 video games (a loss to Oklahoma City in Nov. 2022) did he spend the complete fourth on the bench.
However this recreation was out of hand, the Knicks have been short-handed and banged up, and two of their most necessary gamers had averaged more than 41 minutes by their first 9 playoff video games. Moreover, this was the shortest turnaround you’ll get within the playoffs, a Sunday afternoon recreation after one on Friday evening.
Josh Hart, the participant averaging 46.4 minutes earlier than Sunday, was the primary starter to sit down down, changed by Valuable Achiuwa with 8:17 left within the third. Then it was Isaiah Hartenstein (6:54), Brunson (2:32) and Donte DiVincenzo (0:44).
We received quarter-hour of rubbish time and perhaps that’s what the Knicks wanted, even when it got here with their largest margin of defeat this season.
“Yeah we’re short-handed,” Brunson stated afterward. “However that doesn’t matter proper now. We have now what we have now, and we have to go ahead with that. So there isn’t any, ‘We’re short-handed.’ There isn’t any excuse. There’s no excuse in anyway. If we lose, we lose. That’s what that was.”
The Knicks will now need to hope {that a} comparatively early return dwelling and two nights of their beds will likely be sufficient to have them extra prepared for Sport 5 on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, TNT). They’ve been remarkably resilient so far, however with each recreation, there’s a little bit extra put on on the tires and rather less gasoline within the tank.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You may e-mail him here, discover his archive here and follow him on X. 
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