Most of the lessons of Revenge of the Nerds are actually kind of fucked up, but there’s at least one point in the film that has a fair lesson for the New York Knicks. The part where they fix up their shitty frat house to the tune of “One Foot in Front of the Other” by Bone Symphony.
The Knicks just have to put one foot in front of the other. Simply win Game 5, then worry about Game 6 and 7 on Saturday.
As I’ve been saying all postseason, 1. Just being at the table gives you a chance. There are 13 other Eastern Conference teams that would love to have a CHANCE at winning three games in a row to make it to the NBA Finals. Just BEING in a position where you have Game 5 on your home court is a big deal, and, most importantly, 2. None of this shit is written until the games are finished. No one has a series “wrapped up,” and no one is “doomed” until they are actually “doomed” and the series is actually “wrapped up.” You can’t say that the Knicks are screwed until the Pacers beat them four times. Until that happens, the Knicks are still in this, and still control the narrative.
So, you know, just fucking win the game, Knicks, okay?
Let’s go, Knicks!
Just seven more wins to go!
The Dylan tune is, of course, “Obviously 5 Believers,” from his iconic Blonde on Blonde.
463 replies on “2025 Round 3 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Pacers, Game 5 – Obviously 5 Believers”
Let’s Do it!
🥉🏀🥈
…and what I wanted to say was:
HUK HUK!!!
I double dare you, Thibs…
Finally an elimination game for us too!
Let’s see what we’re made of!😎
This team has accomplished more than any Knicks squad in 25 years. If it ends tonight, it has been a great ride.
I really don’t want it to end this way.
Cue Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw & Styx:
https://youtu.be/QAZaZ6M_G4o?si=-G5NXXNNGZqxe89X
Let’s Go Knicks!! We should be proud of our guys for the joy they brought this playoffs no matter what …
LET’S GO KNIIIIICKS! 🗽🏀🧡💙🧡🏀🗽
Love your philosophy and postings, Ephus, but please no more Styx.
Cheese-us.
Happy with the destination, but the ride has been pretty darn bumpy.
May Thibs coach like Eric Spoelstra tonight
How many times will the famous quote “they can’t defend these guys” pop up, while the best defenders sit on the bench and get minimal minutes.
Also, Mikal is bad POA defender- remove him from Hali
before i clicked on the link..i was thinking it would be “the best of times”…was disappointed…
fun fact: thibs and spo have the same career winning % in the reg season….believe it or not…spo’s post season win % is the same as his reg season…unfortunately for us…not quite the same for mr thibs..
KAT is starting.
This ^^^^^^^^^
In the famous words of Al Davis, “just win, baby!”
Gooooo Knicks! 🧡💙
Brunson moving off the ball leads to 4 quick points.
Robinson alley oop will change Pacers’ defense.
A lob pass…we’re pulling out all the gadget plays tonight
We’re looking sharp. Also we should absolutely be abusing the Mitch alley-oop—I think Turner isn’t big or fast enough to guard it.
Not bad!
Mitch can’t catch bounce passes but can do a OBJ impression on the fingertips.
All is right.
Ptmilo has been screaming for the lob since at least last playoffs.
I had pretty much given up on it.
It’s really annoying that they don’t go to it more.
I’d argue that was the best 2.5 minutes of opening basketball so far this playoff run…
Early in his career, Mitch slipped screens frequently – leading to lots of lobs. I hope he mixes that in tonight. Make ‘em pay for coming up to the level.
Helpful miss from Nesmith
What is that pass
Jesus, if that Washington Generals reject Shepherd beats us, I give up…
We cannot pass inside, which sucks because we’re a lot bigger than them.
Weak ass layup from, who else, Mikal Bridges…
Brunson has stopped moving off of the ball.
Shut the hell up, Stan.
We’re still doing DUMB SHIT.
There’s Brunsons one assist to KAT.
Thank GOD.
Hell yes Jalen
I think we should keep Brunson.
Automatic!!!
JB’s hitting his shots (hooray!) but I can’t say I’m loving his shooting decisions, let’s hope he stays hot.
Brunson has not stopped making shots. He’s 5/6 for 12 points.
We need to build up the lead to be prepared for TJ McConnell 😀
Brunson BURNER
ACTIVATE
I am ready for Brunson to turn into Curry
Just wait until we unleash the Delon Shamet show on them
Fuck efficiency! It’s win or go home. EMPTY THE CLIP
Knicks are taking much better care of the ball. Only 1 turnover through the first 8 minutes.
Jokes aside, we’re playing great, let’s hope we can keep playing this way for the whole game.
Brunson likes the rims at msg
Dare shots is dumb. That was contested
Yes Mitch
Good boarding
Mitch is Mitchin’… i like it! 🙂
I’m good with that Brunson heat check
So they are still not going to call fouls on Mitch I guess.
Indy is yet again hacking the fuck out of our guys
Feel the air going out of the balloon here
We let this shit pacer lineup erase the lead…not good
Mitch was gassed at the end of the quarter. He needs a rest.
The telecast is so absurdly biased.
Good Q
Let’s Repeat!
SVG and Reggie together are a match made in hell
Let them creep back in there. Let’s keep pressure on.
Bridges out to a quick 1-4
How do they miss Mitch getting pushed under the hoop two possessions in a row?
Why do we keep doing this to Mitch? He was so gassed at the end of the 1Q he had his hands on his knees for that whole possession.
Still only 1 TO in the first quarter.
Only one easy back cut.
No Pacers fast breaks after Knicks baskets.
These were three areas to improve off of Game 4.
We again have missed a few shots right at the rim
To be fair they didn’t call Brunson pulling the jersey
Where is Ian Eagle, much rather listen to him
Can’t throw a freaking entry pass to KAT.
KAT I love you
KAT is punishing the Pacers interior defense. Finally gets a whistle.
They can’t stop KAT. If we can just defend…
If KAT can stay out of foul trouble, just keep running HB Dive with him until they can stop it
If I could play in the NBA…
Ugh, get the scrubs out of there.
Deuce gotta clean up his kickout passes
Need Wright to make some shots
And Siakam to miss some
KAT & The Bench Boys are extending the lead
Obi is having an awful game on both ends.
I am prepared for us to to get a friendly whistle
KAT killing them with both Delon and Hart on the floor does not speak well of the starting unit
Hmmm
God Only Knows what we’d be without them
EBW, game 3 4th qtr says hello
Mikal and JB have the worst +/- in the series
What are these two words in a row?
That’s not a foul??
Lol
I mean that if the excuse is that Hart is killing them because of a lack of spacing, then a lineup featuring Delon and Hart should be worse.
I like Spike’s outfit. Well done
SHAMET!!!
They are making some mistakes but the defensive intensity is great.
Wow this KAT and one!
Edit: noooo keep Jalen on the bench!
KAT probably saw Z-man on the stands 😀
Shamet with a great defense after the three,
then KAT’s and-1. +10 Knicks.
Brunson’s back.
lol KAT
Cheetah on offense
Another &1 for KAT.
He is so good when he is good.
Someone call child services on behalf of Myles Turner. He’s being abused.
That’s a GROWN MAN’S AND-ONE
The Delon/Deuce/Shamet/Hart/KAT lineup is really good and it doesn’t really make sense.
Shamet is like if Waluigi could hoop
Landry Shamet doing good things
Defensive effort is on point
Damn, Shamet’s showing up!
Delon may be their best PoA defender, I think it makes things work.
Shamet is playing with a ferocity
My working theory is that all those guys make quick decisions, can dribble, and everyone but Towns is a good defender.
Brunson, Mikal, and OG don’t make decisions that quickly and we end up resetting. At least that’s what I’m going with.
Of course they’re playing the backups too.
Delon and Deuce are our 2 best POA defenders
Standing O for Shamet
Something I never thought I would write
Why is KAT playing volleyball. Dunk the damn ball.
Looking smooth!
Deuce can’t guard TJ that well, but Delon does it superbly.
Glad the game told Thibs to leave Shamet in
Yeah agreed on all fronts—something else is that having 4+ defenders surrounding KAT at C can make him defensively tenable at the 5, maybe.
We need to rip their fucking throats out tonight… NO MERCY!!!!
Still only 4 turnovers. I think there has been only 1 live-ball turnover. Pacers have been forced to play half court offense and been held under 40 points so far.
Both Delon and Shamet defend hard, move the ball and stay in their lanes on offense, they never try to win the game alone (hello Cam!)
BuT tHibS DOeS’t mAKe aDJuStmEntS
Don’t think I’ve ever seen us look this good while Bridges and OG (2-10 combined) are having stinkers
Mikal should be benched for that ridiculous shot. Seriously.
Mikal single handedly keeping us from extending the Pacers lead. I don’t think he’s passed to an open 3 point shooter off the bounce once this series.
God Bridges is garbage
One more Bridges fadeaway and i’m going to start throwing things at the TV 😛
Bridges is just weak…can’t we just sit his sorry ass
Bridges is a buzz kill
Bridges simply will not try to finish at the rim. Pacers are playing him for the pull up.
I don’t think I’ve seen the Knicks play offense like that second unit since Cam/Deuce/Shamet/Warren in the preseason
Mikal contract extension should be the easiest pass
Can’t believe I want to bench 5-firsts Mikal for Shamet, but here we are…
OG got mugged.
Every time we make a dumb thing they hit a three, it’s automatic
Things that are less soft than Mikal Bridges:
Baby thighs
Charmin
An overripe peach
Tofu
Pillows at the Ritz Carlton
Do these guys EVER miss an open 3?
We have no one to match up against Siakam. We really do need a legit PF that we can play with confidence for next year.
Hart should be pistol whipped for that lazy defensive possession.
Ok, i’ll give Mikal a pass if the fadeaway goes in. LOL
Ok good overall half despite not slamming door on them
Not a great way to close out the half
Ugly pass …
Well, I nearly smashed my iPad on that last play but at least Hali missed
The Delon lineup is crazy. How can it work?
We got up by what, 13, and it’s 11 at the half? That ain’t too bad
Great first half. KAT was on fire in the second quarter.
Pacers are literally not covering Bridges when he cuts towards the rim without the ball.
Great half. Great half.
Should be up 20…our starting forward tandem is awol…see if thibs rides his guys to cancun or does the right thing…
We need to keep the defensive intensity up, maybe double it.
Bridges protecting his iron man streak is good for himself, but awful for the team. Soft player
Me doing the Patrick Ewing “Do you practice that shot? When??” every other Bridges FG attempt
OG isn’t shooting well, but he’s bringing it on defense at least.
Putting Pressing D bench guys instead of flame throwers works better
Good half, but we need to keep the pedal down and avoid our usual drugs&booze-induced 3rd quarter of doom.
Agreed.
And if they decide to extend him to keep Brunson happy, if it’s for anything above the mid-level I could take a sabbatical from my fandom.
We probably agreed to the Bridges extension last summer.
14 and the ball, but yeah. I think they got away with some silliness at the end, and were lucky they kept the lead.
The main thing is that KAT and Brunson were staggered for a LOT of the time this half. If Thibs does the same thing in the second half – as opposed to what he did in game 4 – I like their chances.
If they can continue to limit INDs fast break opportunities, they aren’t very formidable. If they start to turn the ball over and brick 3s with long rebounds, get the fishing poles out.
Unfortunately Cam has little flame and a lot of throwing
I would really hate that.
if this unit craps the bed start the 3rd Thibs you need to make a sub immediately
Pacers lead by end quarter
Out of all the annoying things that have happened in this series, giving up open 3s after made layups because your guy falls on the floor tops the list.
Jesus Christ the inbound Mitch-JB!
Why? WHY?
Knicks relaxed after Brunson’s 3. Gotta stay alert.
Kill me.
Another great Mitch defensive stand.
Yes Mitch.
Future DPOY
Mitch is actually our best player
Mitch!
Mitch!
Mitch is so good with his hands
MITCH!!!!;!
Mitch is BEASTING.
Mitch is playing great
Mitch offensive rebound & tip-in. This is the best he has played since the first half of Game 3.
Let’s finish it!
I don’t understand why they can defend with this level of energy every game?
It’s not like they’ve been on back to back games or anything.
Get some compound V for mitch so he can go the whole half
We need Mitch with some more health and stamina.
TONIGHT WE ARE CANCELING THE APOCALYPSE!
(If you know what movie this line is from you are cool and we can be friends….)
Hope Hukporti is taking notes
Why can’t we play with this amount of focus, effort and intensity every night?
Mitch be like suck 80% of my dick
When the Knicks get to the foul line, the Pacers can’t run.
Sociopath Brunson is my favorite Brunson.
Defense wins…. great intensity.
Brunson’s best defense of the century
P.S. Another crazy inbound turnover 🤦🏻♂️
Red flag. Second offensive foul by KAT this quarter.
This is legitimately great defense with Brunson and KAT both on the floor.
Stop the turnovers.
I really hope these turnovers don’t come back to bite them.
How is Mitch the only one to get back on that?
Imagine a full season of healthy Mitch with this group.
Edit: He crushed Bradley’s will to live.
Double edit: and Thomas Bryant’s!
Thomas Bryant?
Watch him end up plus ten
Or miss a dunk
I wanted that alley oop.
Mitch’s hands again creating havoc.
This is just what the doctor ordered. Now let’s do it for 9.5 more quarters
Playoff Mitch is a thing
KAT has picked up 3 foolish fouls this quarter.
If Mitch is healthy next season Knicks can return exact same roster and could push 60 wins.
CmonKAT
At least Thibs will now be forced to stagger KAT.
This would be such a great series uf we didn’t blow game 1
KAT is the king of dumb fouls.
If KAT could eliminate the silly fouls, he would have done it years ago. It seems woven into his fabric.
Still having a great game.
Its almost like he shoots himself in the foot subconsciously yet intentionally.
KAT’s intrusive thoughts are winning
Fuck, Hart, no more dumb shit PLEASE!!!
Hart has to know they’re shooting the gaps when he drives, right? Right?
Absolute headass Hart/Bridges 2-man game. Never do that again.
60 seconds of unwatchable offense.
Rag tag shit now
Please don’t relax.
Dammit, OG just cannot hit a shot.
Several stupid possessions bringing the Pacers back into it.
Dumb Hart foul.
Hart came in for KAT and has completely swung the game in Indiana’s favor.
Stupid fouls getting them in the game.
Mathurin seems like such an idiot.
Is Mitch just our fastest end-to-end player?
Go back to Shamet.
Hart took the headass baton from KAT
Hart killing us again
I’d challenge.
Blowin’ it
Need a TO or lineup change or something
Come on combover
Bridges scored at the rim!
Hart is back to his Game 4 self.
This lineup does not have it.
PULL HART!!!
Hart’s single-handedly bringing the Pacers back into the game.
Thibs: “Keep him in.”
Hart is singlehandedly blowing this game for the Knicks, this is incredible.
Thibs is going to sink with Hart for two games in a row. Idiot.
Where are Delon and Shamet?
THIIIIBS!
Is the coach unable to take Hart off the court? Or he has no choice..
Another Hart Shart
Why the fuck is hart still in the game?????
very similar to last game
Not playing guys who help you. Letting Hart be a bummer
Hart is -7 in a 12 point game.
Hack a Mitch was brilliant by Carlisle.
Someone wake Mikal up.
Huge run after the Pacers had cut it to 10.
Am I the only who has us up 17? You guys are making me to check to see if my feed isn’t live
I’d like Mikal to take easier shots but it’s nice when he hits the hard ones
Great shot by Brunson
Lol Obi
Of course, the weirdest lineup goes on a 7-0 run.
WOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Yeah thankfully Brunson ain’t letting this game get close tonight.
Brunson seems pissed
Are the Pacers challenging the Brunson leg kick?
Great response, to the self inflicted wound. Towns fouls, Thibs not trusting guys who played amazing like 15 mins ago
Man, if Brunson could only play defense, he’d be an okay player
Such a shame…
Deuce checks in the game, we go up 17. Coincidence?
Brunson has great footwork but can’t translate it to the defensive end.
Sherlock Holmes: Once you eliminate the impossible, the remaining explanations, no matter how improbable, provide the answer.
Thibs: Precious will stop a big Pacers comeback.
If so 4 point swing guaranteed. Carlisle never loses a challenge
It’s weird: Mitch is only +3, while KAT is +25.
Precious!!
Precious makes big plays at both rims.
You can really only hope to contain Precious Achiuwa
Precious MVP
Love it!!!
Precious made two excellent things in a row
Precious, the secret sauce
Big Sneeze!!
Why did Delon slow down
Ooh Delon
He truly is Good Ntilikina
That is nowhere close to a flagrant, come on now.
Not a flagrant
I love when Thibs trusts his guys and they respond.
“I’ve been kissed harder than that.” Reggie Miller.
When KAT returns, he should be well rested.
Reggie into some kinky stuff
Jesus Christ, Hart…
What is this lineup? There is 1.5 shooters on the floor. Of course they let the other team score 7 in a row.
Josh Hart let them score 7 points in a row.
This is our penalty kill lineup
I’ve been harsh on Cam, but maybe this was the time to use Payne
Who’s Cam Payne?
You can put your foot on the gas getting into the 4th, but then he plays that lineup. Thibs leaves stuff on the table all the time.
Closing the Q bad again
Up by 17 going to the 4th quarter with a rested KAT, rested Brunson and rested Mitch.
Josh gonna play the whole 4Q, right?
That didn’t look pretty but we pushed it to 17.
As an old friend of mine likes to say, “lotta golf left.”
Putting our win probability at 15% unless Cronin shows up, in which case it’s 4%
I’m booking my flight to Indiana now – good idea or bad?
In Game 4, when the Pacers were running, Haliburton looked unstoppable. Tonight, only 6 points through 3 quarters.
Come the fuck on, Thibs. Mitch needs to be in the game to start the 4Q with a 19 pt lead instead of Hart. They hacked him out of the game for a reason!!
Shamet!!!!
????
Amazing
Why not put Mitch in, before they get in the penalty??????
I feel more anxious up 16 than tied
So sick of Hart, guys.
Josh Hart is making turnovers a form of art
Jesus Josh
Ack, another bad Hart TO
PULL HART!!!!!!
Josh Hart fucking sucks
How do the Pacers have 27 FTAs?
Josh is giving me flashbacks to Julius turnovers
Hart has lost his confidence.
SHAMET!!!!!
Great D, Shamet!
Landry is the Bridges who was promised
I really love Shamet’s energy.
LANDRY
TJ McConnell. Unstopped In New York Since 2015.
Then Shamet came.
If any other player committed a turnover that dumb in the regular season Thibs would have benched him and never played him again. But teacher’s pet stays in an elimination game no matter how many choke ass terrible plays he makes
Shamet is amazing when he’s not guarding someone 4″ taller than him
Shamet gets a MSG chant.
Hart cannot guard Siakam wtf
Hart’s good at complaining to refs though. Excels in that department
We’ve found our McConnell stopper lol
Timeouut
Timeout
Josh and KAT donning a Pacers uniform to start the 4th…
Hart should not play another minute in this game. He’s terrible today
Blah!
Every single uncalled foul is a 3 for Indiana it’s actually nuts
Our starters are brain farting right and left.
I don’t know how one can watch this and not blame Thibs for keeping Hart out there.
Every time we turn the ball over the can a 3.
When KAT attacks the rim and gets stripped, it leads to 5 on 4 possessions.
He is consistently inconsistent.
Call me crazy but I don’t think the Pacers would be on a 9-1 run if Mitch were in there. Hart’s directly responsible for 4 of the 9 pts.
Will Hart ever sit? He’s been a disaster again…. Also get brunson in the game, enough rest
Comeback time. Hart will play the rest of tge way and cost us the game
hmmmmm ….
Time for Mitch & Brunson.
I repeat: Why save Mitch here? We’re going to ride w an exhausted KAT all the way to the end?
Josh Hart has lost all confidence in his game. He’s scared to go to the hoop! It’s sad at this point. But fucking Thibs won’t put him out of his misery. He values his rebounding I guess but it’s fucking stupidly to keep playing him considering how poorly he’s played the last two games.
We are making a run here and putting this team away.
Watch. Its night-night time for Indiana.
This is why you need to fire Thibs. He has his dumb little security blanket players and won’t pull them even if they’re destroying the game
I start liking KAT and then he gets confused on defense by his assignment standing still at the 3pt line
Blowing a 20 point 4th quarter lead at home would be a fitting way for this team to go into the summer.
Thibs is a stupid, stupid man.
I’d only the coach were as can’t as a bunch of random posters on an obscure site. Holy fuck how obvious was it that Hart needed to sit for Mitch, especially early in the quarter when they can’t hack him.
But Thibs hasn’t
Also, this whole thing started when Thibs decided that a Delon-Deuce-Mikal-Hart-Precious lineup should see the floor in a crucial game.
Guess who’s back out there.
It’s the worst possible lineup.
We will probably not survive this
Thibs is that hard worker that’s just not very high iq …just dumb decisions over and over
It is truly remarkable.
Hart is still in lmao
wait this is the terrible starting lineup that’s in
They are TRYING to give us the game…
Ok, Josh.
Hart breaks the drought.
If we lose it will be because Tom Thibodeau blows.
Totally amazing that he is going with this lineup
Thank you Josh. Put that on the plus side of the ledger
Run a 1-5 pick and roll for the love of God.
Wow that pass…
Don’t know what that was but I will take it
Or not. Give him credit. Still think it should be Mitch, but he doesn’t quit.
Hart is rewarding Thibs’ faith in the last minute after some AWFUL possessions.
GO NY GO NY GO!
Pacers aren’t getting this game into single digits.
From your lips to God’s ears, ras
Thibs is waiting for the Knicks to be in the penalty to reinsert Mitch.
Mitch has played 19 minutes only. He can play another 6. Come on.
Lawler’s Law: First team to 100 wins.
Mitch now can’t go in bc it will be hack a Mitch which is why it’s shocking he didn’t play him to start the 4th. We’re winning in spite of Thibs not bc of his decisions
It won’t be tonight but mark my words this thing where Hart gets to play all the last 16 minutes and Mitch plays none of them will end our season.
Kurt Thomas in a shiny fit form, while Raymond The Penguin Felton needs two seats. 😂
I think he’s trying to stagger Towns and Mitch to avoid both fouling out
We are playing defense tonight
They are also missing some shots they have made
Bridges fadeaway is a guilty pleasure!
Coaching malpractice to not play Mitch to start q4 regardless of result. Why can’t we just make the obvious good decisions
Good Lord, we can’t handle prosperity
We should be able to feel safe up 16 with 3 mins left but now i never can
Are we trying to do it again?
Prevent offense and half-hearted defense?
Can we not have the wheels come off again
I would have Mitch and Deuce in there
I’m afraid you are right, Hubie.
I thought that KAT 3 was going in.
Mikal can’t hit a damn 3.
The team therapist should talk to Thibs about his unconditional trust of Josh Hart.
I love Josh Hart and am not going to call for his public execution based on a rough series but maaaaan he has been terrible with the basketball.
If the Pacers weren’t sleepwalking tonight I’d be a lot less comfortable right now.
My heart is in my mouth. I do not feel confident despite the double-digit lead.
Thanks, Game 1 collapse.
We’ll see if we can go wire-to-wire.
Knicks are putting this scrubs away now after the time out.
Watch.
Thibs is the dumbest coach ever. I don’t know why Hart is still playing and players haven’t been rotated properly.
Any time we succeed it’s in spite of him
He has been awful on defense too.
Thibs might be fearing Hack-a-Mitch
Worst possible lineup is closing out the game
Stay aggressive, you fucks.
His new rotation since he made the starting lineup change is Mitch comes out in the 3Q and never goes back in, while Hart goes in in the 3Q and never comes out.
That’s probably never not going to happen.
Yeh…100% , it’s either too rigid or completely unpredictable with his rotations
These scrubs have not led in 1 quarter the entire game and it won’t happen by the time the 4th is over.
another Anunoby brick
KAT with the exclamation point.
If we can just be up 14 with less than 2:45 remaining we can at least have a shot at doing the worst in NBA history twice in the same series
What the fuck is Carlisle doing
You can pull your starters before the game is over??
Well, KAT was aggressive and it worked
I was about to say I wish he had fouled out
Flex on em KAT
See! Whip that ass!
Okay, this one is in the bag
See you all in Indiana, bitches!
Couldn’t these guys have missed a couple of shots like those in Game 1? Sigh.
Who’s ready for Obi Toppin’s “19 points in 88 seconds”?
Show some love!
Knicks showed up for a must win game.
It has been a wild ride, but the Knicks are still alive.
Let’s do this again on Saturday, please.
Bad process, good result, but I will happily take it.
Huge games from our two marquee guys.
Well…manhood on the line in indy on sat night
WE ARE CANCELING THE APOCALYPSE TONIGHT!
I wanted a 40-point embarrassment, but this will do.
Carlisle with the courtesy time out so Thibs can put his reserves in.
Game Over
Thank god this has been a relatively low-stress win. My blood pressure is grateful.
Defense was on another level tonight.
Thibs, let KAT go Ice that knee
And Indiana can go Ice Deez Nuts.
Dammit why couldn’t we win g1
If we force a g7 i won’t even be mad
But g6 is gonna be a rock fight that i have every confidence in thibs to lose
Hart in with the reserves just to spite us
I disagree a bit here. They played superb defense, and won by close to 20 despite shooting 27% from deep. Yes, there were stupid lineup decisions by Thibs, but you have to give them credit for the defense they played.
Hahahahaha Ras
After Game 2 all I wanted was for the Knicks to force a Game 6, mission accomplished.
You mean OG? He missed 3 open looks in the second half.
Huk sighting!
LOL ras
Heaven in Seven is still on the table, fellas.
Get in on the bandwagon before it fills up.
I started with Styx and am ending with the Bay City Rollers.
Generation X, represent.
https://youtu.be/7BKKaKT_dtM?si=_Tt-3w87X1pauFSs
Ariel Hukporti got a basket in a conference finals game
Feels like Indiana paced themselves tonight but I’ll take it.
Hukporti looking lean and mean.
Couple of these rooks could turn into rotation players next year – would be nice!
Great character win. It’s so glaring to me how evenly matched the teams are, with more talent on the Knicks side. The issue is the awful coaching we’ve had to endure. We’ve been in every game and had it not been for the collapse in game 1 and terrible rotations in every loss, the series may have looked different and we’re probably up.
Need to bring the same intensity for Game 6 and the Pacers might fold. They are not a mentally tough team, despite that game 1 miracle.
Still hard to believe that “Johnny Furphy” is a real person.
Can’t stop thinking about the ridiculous bounce Haliburton got in Game 1. Please win this series so that I can stop thinking about it.
Huk Huk!!!
Perfect cherry
This was defensive mastery all around. Even that 4th quarter which everyone was fretting about saw Indiana’s vaunted offense just score 21 points with no Mitch.
Good game and a wire to wire win that doesn’t feel like it because we’re rightfully shellshocked from Game-1.
If we’re able to clean some of our dumbest mistakes we could try to play on their overconfidence in Indy.
The Knicks will still be playing VERY meaningful basketball May 31st, rejoice!
Yeah I agree. I think it’s a harbinger but overall tonight was excellent with one dumb thing.
That felt good.
Yeah shame we didn’t get game 1, it’s a very different world if we did, but I’m glad (and not surprised) they didn’t roll over tonight. Still in with a shot. 3 teams left…
The conventional wisdom is that a long series favors the Pacers because they run so much and tire other teams. Now hear me out: what if a long series allows your defense to understand what they do on offense better and figure out your communication?
As well as we played, we can still be better. Some dumb TOs, lapses in transition, stuff we can clean up. Which makes me believe there is hope. We did dominate (most of) game 1, after all.
Haliburton with 8 on 2-7 FGs after what he did last game. He’s such a weird player.
Great defense and strong game by our guys. Eyth the exception of that dumb Towns foul, Thibs head scratching lineup decisions and Hart’s turnovers and indecision a strong game. To win in Indiana will need to clean all that up, but live to fight another day!
Haliburton with a smug ass face walking off the court, God I fucking hate him.
Cuz he knows he can end it in Indiana in two days. The goal will be to get him back to MSG for game 7 where he won’t be so smug.
It is going to be hard to convince me Hali didn’t take an envelope tonight compared to his last game.
100%
Also, OG had a bad game, so there’s room to improve there as well
It’s amazing what happens when you play players who are on your team occasionally. Thibs drives me up a wall every game.
Do you mean what I’m thinking?
Why did Nesmith play so little?
Probably a function of Mathurin being on fire?
It’s why he gets the overrated label and not considered a superstar by some. He’s so inconsistent and can disappear in games. One great game, one bad game.
Finally! Some consistent defense. Intensity. Not without mistakes, that’s inevitable, but we kept it up throughout the game. Where was that before? Can they keep it up?
Pick up that clown Haliburton the entire floor, like tonight. Slow him down. Be physical, treat him like they’ve been treating our own Brunson for 48 minutes. Make them feel you, push them, bump them. They had 20 turnovers tonight. That’s what we need.
That’s a crazy stat about KAT and Brunson each scoring 20 in first 5 games of a Conference Finals.
Look, if the Knicks lose, I’ll enjoy seeing Caruso guarding Haliburton.
Caruso will steal his breakfast.
They played The Worst Possible Lineup down the stretch, but TWPL didn’t look all that bad. So we’ll definitely be seeing it in a prominent role again.
TNT crew killing KAT for the fouls to his face. But so did Anthony Edwards last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f73mPaPRUqU
KAT just doesn’t seem to have it in him not to commit stupid fouls.
It really felt like they mailed this one in bc they think they’ll win at home. And honestly I couldn’t be happier.
When the Celtics kicked our ass in game 5 we competed like hell for most of the game, they just beat us.
The way they approached this game makes me more confident than ever that we’ll win game 6.
Hot take: when Hali can’t get into transition much he is nothing special
Thank you!
Respect KaTs mature answer to the questions though. We forget these are young men, and dude is getting killed about his mistakes after a win on national TV. Very mature response by him, give him his props. But dude, STOP FOULING lol
He’s hurt. The ankle has taken away his A-game.
Yeah, KAT may infuriate me with his defense sometimes, but he seems a genuinely good dude and easy to root for
I liked this game better than Game 4.
Hali no-shows unlike any player as good as him that I can think of
Knicks have outscored the Pacers thru 5 games.
Idk why but this W felt easy, Hali disappeared during the game but looked sardonic after its end, Pacers made a few attempts of playing hard but not as usual while Carlisle pulled off his starters at the last minutes strangely early…
I wonder how many Knicks game this season we had where nobody played 36 minutes
Wouldn’t be surprised if the Pacers run as hell and press like demons on the next game which seems to be THE ULTIMATE TEST of the season (till the next one)
Like maybe Indiana was pacing themselves but Hali playing 31 minutes to Brunson playing 33 minutes is not exactly accomplishing anything in terms of wear and tear
There was a section of knicks fans on social media gearing up to shit on Brunson because he doesn’t pass enough and he’s scored 30+ points 10 times this post season, which is first in Knicks history in front of Bernard King with 8 and Jalen Brunson with 7. I wasn’t lucky enough to be alive to see Clyde but playoff Jalen’s the best Knicks player I’ve ever seen at this point.
We all know Hali is gonna be more aggressive next time and fire up threes. We saw this same up and down from him last year
In a conspiracy dystopian theory i could imagine Silver demanding at least 6 games for this series no matter how they do it
🥸🙈🙉🙊💰
I truly wanna believe that NBA is 100% rigged free but the amounts of money and the lately almost impossible ability to project outcomes don’t let me…
I’d rather listen to a f’ing dental drill than to Kevin Harlan and Reggie.
Great win. On to Indiana for the SERIOUS clutch time.
The Josh Hart minutes were maddening, but I do have to give Thibs some credit for winning this game while keeping Brunson’s minutes to a reasonable number. Cap looked pretty fresh down the stretch and was easily the best player on the floor tonight. The Delon/Shamet combo continues to deliver cromulence. Delon is basically a guard version of Nerlens Noel.
Knicks won points in the paint 60-34.
Is it possible Hali was coasting because he wants to strut his stuff in front of the home fans?
It was like he decided to take the night off.
And btw just like the “Cade might be the best player in the series” crap, can we stop with the same shit with Tyrese please? Brunson would never, ever only attempt 7 shots in a playoff game.
Rewatching the game, and maybe Hali took an envelope, but he has some weird big black shit around his waist (early fourth), perhaps he has a core or abdominal injury?
Perhaps, he is not as good?
Hali also plays horrible against traps which the dude just dribbles into every time, I counted 5 tonight alone.
There has not been a more hateable player in the NBA since Young, and I would argue that this pacers team deserves credit for being the most hateable team in the NBA.
Also don’t anger the basketball gods with Hack-a-Mitch, doesn’t seem to work out for teams this year.
Yeah, but they clearly realized they could just let Delon shoot from outside, so we’ll need to adjust for that if we want productive minutes going forward
Just woke up to this great thread. Felt like I was at the game. Thx, gents. Onward!
I just got home from game 5. Sections 227. The energy in the stadium and the team was incredible tonight. Kudos to the entire team including the bench 10 deep. Everyone contributed including precious. All hands on deck in game 6! PS the mosh pit post game was epic again. I’m turning 50 next month and being with my peoples after the game makes me feel young again.
Knicks got 89 shots tonight, while the Pacers only got 74. Part of that is a mirage because the Pacers shot more free throws, and shooting fouls that don’t score are not counted as shots. A bigger part is that Knicks won the turnover battle by 5 (20-15). Another part is that the Knicks grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, while the pacers only had 8.
Knicks shot 36/60 on two pointers tonight. KAT, Brunson & Bridges were each over 66% on two point shots.
Haliburton combined his lack of scoring (8 points) with a lack of rebounds (2) and assists (6).
Pacers fast break only scored 16, after getting 22 fast break points in Game 4.
Someday I am going to drop something like this into a game thread. I just have to keep grinding.
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