Thursday night. Knicks followed the script, sorta. But can they do it again? Twice? Maybe?
So we’re all here, kinda waiting for New York to crank up the defense, right? Get all physical and drag it down, make it messy. You know, thrive in the chaos. But, three out of four games? Indiana’s been the tougher team. No kidding, Tyrese Haliburton’s out-muscling Jalen Brunson. Pacers, man, they got space. Space to let loose that slick offense, where Haliburton’s either scoring or cutting into the paint, finding guys or kicking it out. You get it?
But Thursday! Knicks brought that fire, that energy. Swarming all over. Up in Pacers’ faces, making ‘em uncomfortable. Mitchell Robinson was all over it, and, believe it or not, even Landry Shamet — that dude’s not known for defense — was hassling them, making plays.
“I’m just very proud of what we did,” Brunson says after the game. Sounds like he’s already got a plan for next time.
### Knicks’ Comeback Blueprint
So Brunson’s on point. Knicks wanna get to the Finals — first time since, I dunno, The Matrix came out? — they gotta build on Game 5, do better. Winning at Madison Square was just the easy part of the climb. To really get there, pressure’s on. Keep those turnovers down, only 15 last night. And guys like OG Anunoby (what was he, 3-of-14? Yikes) need to show up. Same for Duece McBride. Hit those shots, man.
And Karl-Anthony Towns — they need him in beast mode. Now, flip to defense. Brunson and the guys were all over Haliburton, he got passive, like super passive — only seven shots. Throws the whole team off.
“Put it on me. I’ll be better in Game 6,” Haliburton vows.
While he was off, no one else picked up the slack. Myles Turner had early turnovers and it was downhill from there. Indiana was sloppy, like the Knicks were in other games. Now they have a mess to clean up. (Oh Pacers, think Knicks were tough? Wait till you meet Oklahoma City Thunder.)
New York’s gotta keep that intensity up. Indiana’s not gonna be this out of sorts again. Not at home. Thibodeau needs to trust the bench — Shamet, Hart, Delon Wright, Precious Achiuwa — their minutes help keep the big dogs fresh.
And Brunson, gotta be top dog. He was the aggressor — 60 points in the paint, man, 58.8% shooting. Eight and-1 plays. Yep, Brunson showed up.
Indiana won’t be chilled at home for Game 6, Saturday night. With their crowd? They’ll try to match Knicks’ desperation. Seems like Indiana’s Game 7 — gotta close the series or risk Game 7 craziness back in Madison Square. Yeah, they won that one last year, by 21 points.
But who wants to risk it? Indiana wants to end it, avoid that gamble.
So New York’s got the playbook now. Can they pull it off? Big question.
