The New York Knicks, with all their talent, just fell 106-104 to an Indiana Pacers team that came into the game 4-8 overall and 1-4 at home. Daltong called it, saying, “I’m sure Indiana will look like an all star team tonight.” Turns out, he was dead right, even with Tyrese Haliburton out of the lineup. The Pacers, who already ripped open the fourth quarter with 14 unanswered points on Veterans Day, outscored the Knicks by 13 early in the final frame tonight at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and simply held on. What are we even doing?
KAT’s Monster Night Can’t Save the Day
Look, it wasn’t all bad. Karl-Anthony Towns was an absolute beast, dropping his twelfth straight double-double with 23 points and 15 rebounds. That’s a new franchise record, breaking Willis Reed’s mark for consecutive double-doubles to start a season. Think about that for a second: a new franchise record, and it still wasn’t enough to snag a win against a team that was missing its star and struggled coming into this NBA Cup Group B game. Mikal Bridges, who sometimes gets a little quiet, took 12 shots and put up 18 points. Jalen Brunson also went off, pouring in 33 points, dishing out 11 assists, and finishing with a +8 rating. Even OG Anunoby laced an early triple when Josh Hart noticed Pascal Siakam napping in transition. They even had a 9-0 run in the first quarter, turning a 9-9 tie into an 18-9 lead, with Towns scoring seven of those nine. Bridges chipped in six points and a steal, and Hart had four boards and three dimes in that quarter. So, the flashes are there. The individual brilliance is absolutely there.
The Brutal Truth: No Effort, No W
But here’s the kicker: the Knicks were the more talented team on paper, favored to win, and they just flat out got out-hustled for most of the game. Their effort showed up way too late to steal this one. They lost the paint by 20 points! Twenty! And second-chance points by nine. What’s even wilder is they attempted double-digit fewer free throws than Indiana, with the Pacers going 18-of-25 and the Knicks only 10-of-13. Josh Hart went scoreless on four shots. The game started “inelegantly” with Andrew Nembhard taking the opening tip in for an easy layup. Then Hart thought KAT was gonna cut, but KAT crowded Brunson along the arc, and Nembhard deflected Hart’s pass out of bounds. That kind of confusion, especially with Hart missing a few games, is tough early in the season. But still, the overall lack of sustained fight, the ugly details like losing the paint and the free throw battle, it all adds up. OG and Pascal made each other’s jobs difficult for most of the night. After his early three, OG only made two of his next seven attempts. This team has to be better than this if they want to get anywhere.
The 6-6 Knicks are teetering right now. With the NBA Cup in full swing, every game matters, and letting one slip like this, especially when you’re simply out-hustled by a team weathering an absence, that’s not the look we want. They need to figure out how to put 48 minutes of consistent effort together, or this season could get real frustrating, real fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Posting and Toasting.
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