The New York Knicks appeared to have Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Indiana Pacers all but won when the Pacers stormed back late to force overtime.
With a little under three minutes left in the game and the Knicks up by 14, defensive mistakes and turnovers resulted in a 138-135 overtime defeat for New York. After the game, the Knicks candidly discussed how they ran out of steam down the stretch of the game.
“Defensively, we let off the gas. The intensity and physicality weren’t there,” Knicks wing Josh Hart said, per ESPN. “Offensively, we were playing slower and more stagnant. It looked like we were playing not to lose.”
Forward Karl Anthony-Towns also acknowledged that the team failed to close out the game.
“There’s a lot of things we did good and we put ourselves in position to win. We played 46 good minutes. Those 2 minutes [are] where we lost the game, and that’s on all of us.”
Face of the franchise Jalen Brunson talked about the highs and lows of the NBA playoffs.
“In the playoffs, when you win, it’s the best thing ever,” said Brunson, who had seven turnovers and acknowledged he needed to do more to take care of the ball. “When you lose, it’s the worst thing ever.”
The Knicks have an opportunity to get things turned back around and even the series back up heading back to Indianapolis.
