It was one of the key questions heading into the series: Could the Knicks’ defense slow the uptempo Pacers’ offense enough to give themselves a chance? Through the first three games, Indiana had a 119.3 offensive rating, slightly better than their top-five regular season number, which had them up 2-1 in the series.
In a critical Game 4, the Pacers’ offense found a new gear, and their offensive rating jumped to 126.2, thanks to a masterclass 32-point triple-double from Tyrese Haliburton — with zero turnovers — in front of his father, who was back in the building.
New York couldn’t keep up.
Despite a strong offensive game themselves, Indiana’s offensive outburst sparked a Game 4 win, 130-121, and Indiana now has a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Game 5 — must win for the Knicks to stay alive — is Thursday night in Madison Square Garden.
Game 4 was played at the Pacers’ tempo from the opening tip. The Knicks’ new starting five — featuring two bigs with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson — was not quick enough to keep up with an aggressive Pacers team running on everything, miss or make. The Pacers had a 159.3 offensive rating in the first quarter and led by 8 after one. The Knicks made a comeback, using a 9-2 run in the second quarter with the bench in and Brunson resting, and tied the game at 51-51. New York slowed the game down in the second with that bench lineup.
However, in the fourth quarter, with the two-bigs lineup getting run out of the building and the game on the line, Thibodeau leaned back into his former starting lineup — playing Josh Hart but not Mitchell Robinson — and while that lineup was +5 for the game it could not close the gap at the end. The Knicks again looked worn down by the Pacers’ pace of play.
“Just the hustle, making defensive transition, getting more continuity into the offense,” Thibodeau said of why he leaned into Hart in the fourth, rather than going with the bench group that has done well the past two games.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points with five assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 and OG Anunoby 22.
Towns injured his knee in the final minutes in a collision with Aaron Nesmith (where Myles Turner was called for the foul following a review for shoving Towns into Nesmith). This is the same knee he had meniscus surgery on in 2024 and he was limping and flexing that knee the rest of the game. However, he stayed in the game and said he would be good to go in Game 5.
Haliburton got more help with Pascal Siakam adding 30 points and Aaron Nesmith adding 16.
“He stole a lot of my rebounds,” Siakam joked about Haliburton. “He was amazing… I just love the way he played tonight, his energy.”
The Knicks now have to win three straight games to advance to the NBA Finals.
“I’ve never known this team to quit,” Hart said. “That’s not the character of the guys we have in the locker room.”
More than not quitting, the Knicks need to slow down the tempo of the game — and provide Brunson and Towns with consistent help — to have a chance at those wins.
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