Scrappy Knicks full of confidence, trust ahead of Game against Pacers
Knicks’ Josh Hart dunks the ball while the Indiana Pacers’ Ben Sheppard flies past in the 4th quarter in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Monday, May 6, 2024. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
When the game was over and the locker room doors opened Monday night, Josh Hart was sitting at his locker. A television reporter asked him if he’d mind standing up for the interview to provide a better shot for the cameras. The usually cooperative Hart — and he was on this night, too, when it came to answering questions — said, “No, I just played 48 minutes,” and remained tucked into his locker, getting his first rest of the night.
But as worn down as he may have been after playing every minute of the Knicks' 121-117 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, like Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and OG Anunoby, who all played more than 40 minutes, the Knicks seemed to play their best when it mattered most.
Just as they have throughout this postseason run, the Knicks hit big shots, staged defensive stops and showed poise and calm when they should be exhausted. Down by nine points early in the fourth quarter and five with just over four minutes left, the Knicks never seemed uncertain of anything but that they would find a way to win.
“I think our team is very poised, very composed,” OG Anunoby said. “We trust each other making that play and it shows out there.”
That play Monday was any number of shots and clutch free throws by Brunson, or a go-ahead three-point field goal by DiVincenzo or a four-point play by Hart when he scored, missed a free throw and grabbed the rebound and scored again. Or maybe it was the missed call by the officials that preceded DiVincenzo’s three-pointer when a kick ball was called. Or perhaps it was the controversial illegal screen by Myles Turner, taking away Indiana’s chance for a go-ahead basket in the final seconds.
The NBA’s Last 2 Minute report found four missed calls — two that would have favored each team. But the old saying is, “Luck is the residue of design,” and the design for the Knicks is to be better conditioned, poised and prepared for these moments when they arise.
“Just win. Nothing else,” Hart said. “All of our games last series were close. This is a really tough team and I anticipate it being a really tough series with close games. We just have to build off that and can’t be happy with getting one win. I think we’re all confident in our abilities. But we can’t rely on that.”
In Game 2 of the opening round, Philadelphia was as upset with the officials as Indiana was this time, but the Knicks ignored the chaos and grabbed every loose ball down the stretch. They ripped the ball from the hands of 76ers players and DiVincenzo delivered the big three-point field goal. In Game 6, Brunson had 76ers defenders trailing him and closing in until he spotted Hart, wide-open for a go-ahead three in the final minute.
“We just find a way,” Brunson said. “No matter what it is, we just give each other confidence to make sure we can get the job done. So it’s nothing in particular. It’s just the group of guys we have, we give each other confidence and move forward together.
“You develop it over your career, so it becomes instinctual. So it’s just having the force and the confidence to know that you’re going to continue to play. Just try and do the right things. No matter what the situation is, we know we’re going into it with a fair mind. Just try to play basketball the right way and win games.”
“I think we have a resilient team, that's the biggest thing,” Hart said. “Especially going down the stretch, you can't get too far ahead of yourself. You really have to take it play by play.”
It comes from the confidence that the team has in Brunson to deliver in the clutch, but also the trust that he has in his teammates as shown by giving crucial shots to Hart and DiVincenzo as the game clock ticks down.
“I say this all year, Jalen ends up with 40-something points, but he makes the right play,” DiVincenzo said. “The right play there was they’re coming to double and he kicks it. He’s not a guy that says I’ve got 40, I’ve got to will this team and I have to do it solely with just my points.
“He knows his opportunities, when to be aggressive and take over, and he also knows the situation when 'OK, they’re sending bodies at me. Somebody is open and this is the right play.' He lives with the results. Look at Game 6, what he did with Josh. They sent two at him and he trusts Josh to make that shot. It’s something that I’ve heard. I watched. I wasn’t in the locker room last year. That’s kind of how the series ended in Miami last year. That really stuck with him and you can see it all season long. He just makes the right play over and over again.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
