If ‘frenzied’ Pacers don’t get out of their own way, Knicks will end their season in Game 6

For a moment during the third quarter of their Game 5 flop on Tuesday, it looked like the Indiana Pacers might make things interesting. It was early in the third quarter, and Myles Turner had made 3s on three consecutive possessions, cutting a New York Knicks lead that had been as large as 18 points down to seven. After Knicks star Jalen Brunson missed a contested layup, the Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard pushed the ball the other way. Indiana had numbers, and it had a chance to make it a two-possession game.

Had that possession ended with a dunk or another 3, it wouldn’t have been out of character. The Pacers, the second-most efficient offensive team ever, can pile up points in a hurry. But that was not the kind of night it was at Madison Square Garden. Unable to find a quick bucket in transition, Nembhard found himself running a pick-and-roll against a set defense. He crossed over to reject the screen, Knicks wing Donte DiVincenzo swiped at the ball and he lost it out of bounds.

Shortly thereafter, with Indiana down by 10, Turner lost the ball trying to isolate against Josh Hart. On the Pacers’ next possession, Pascal Siakam committed a carrying violation. These gaffes, plus a misguided jump pass from Obi Toppin that went out of bounds, fueled the 19-1 Knicks run that put the game out of reach. 

Indiana’s 18 turnovers were far from its only problem in the 121-91 loss, but they compounded the damage that New York did on the glass: The Knicks attempted 101 field goal attempts to the Pacers’ 72. Postgame, Tyrese Haliburton said that he felt the team was “a little frenzied” and that a lot of the turnovers were “self-inflicted.” 

Sloppiness is not typically an issue for Indiana; one of the defining characteristics of this team is its ability to play a fast, free-flowing, pass-heavy style while maintaining one of the league’s lowest turnover rates. Despite coughing the ball up on about a fifth of its possessions (19.6%) in Game 5, Indiana has an 11.4% turnover rate in the playoffs. (For context, the Boston Celtics’ 12.1% turnover rate was…

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Author : James Herbert

Publish date : 2024-05-16 19:10:22

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