Missed Opportunity

The Knicks don't have *only* themselves to blame (hello, refs), but they still let a great opportunity slip away on Friday night.

Good afternoon, and an early Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, most especially my own. Alas, we have to talk about last night, which was frustrating for too many reasons to count…

Game 3: Knicks 106, Pacers 111

In a New York minute…

With no OG Anunoby and a banged up Jalen Brunson, Indy got off to a fast start and took a nine-point lead after a sloppy opening quarter for the Knicks. New York found its offensive groove in the second with a 38-point quarter, but still trailed by five at the break. After a strong early push from Indiana in the third, the Knicks came alive, outscoring the Pacers 32-12 over a scintillating nine-minute stretch. The home team pushed back to tie things up at 99 before the offenses for both teams went in the tank down the stretch. After a Brunson triple tied the score at 106, Andrew Nembhard hit a deep three with 17.1 seconds remaining as the shot clock expired to give the Pacers back the advantage. Brunson, trying to draw a foul, missed a tough look from deep to tie it, and New York’s series lead was cut in half.

Three Things

1. 8-on-5. I went back and forth on whether to lead today’s “Three Things” with something about the refs.

On one hand, not only did I want to avoid sounding like whiny Rick Carlisle after Game 2, but more importantly, this is a game the Knicks absolutely could have and arguably should have won despite the men in striped shirts.

On the other hand, putting anything else at the top feels like burying the lede. Maybe the refs aren’t the sole reason the Knicks lost the game, but they’re a significant chunk of the pie in more ways than one - starting with the coverage of Jalen Brunson.