Take 2 (in Indy)

Can the Knicks even the series? Today we look at three key factors that will decide the answer.

Good morning! Big game tonight, you might say. Aaron Nesmith is listed as questionable and will reportedly be a game time decision. The Knicks once again have a clean injury report. 8 pm tipoff on TNT.

Oh, and the halftime zoom lives on for another day.

Take 2 (in Indy)

It bears repeating:

The New York Knicks came back from a 20-point deficit on the road to win their first conference finals game in a quarter century, all with their best player in foul trouble and in the midst of his worst playoff performance as a Knick.

If we’re going by one sentence descriptors, that makes this the best of the 32 wins the franchise has had since their last conference finals victory, a 91-89 Game 4 win against these same Pacers in 2000 behind 25 points from Larry Johnson and 10-for-14 shooting from deep.

Will it retain that lofty perch for years or even decades to come? Or will it wind up as little more than a footnote on Indiana’s romp to their first NBA Finals since they eventually toppled the Knicks 25 years ago?

We won’t necessarily find out that answer tonight - a 3-1 comeback isn’t impossible - but it sure would make life a lot easier for New York if they turned this into a best of three.

Does the evidence from the first three games, and from Game 3 in particular, suggest that they can do it? Let’s take a closer look at three key factors to find the answer…

1. Josh Hart, bench sparkplug