It was only one game.
It was not the defining moment of the Knicks’ season. It likely will not be the low point of the playoffs, either.
It probably isn’t worth too much time to rehash the events of Sunday’s Game 4 in Indianapolis, where the Pacers steamrolled the Knicks, 121-89, to even the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Blowouts are known to exaggerate. Momentum is often an illusion. There is no greater example than Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS (Yankees 19, Red Sox 8).
The Mother’s Day Massacre could soon join the lineage of the Memorial Day Massacre, when the Celtics looked set to repeat as champs after a 148-114 Game 1 win in the 1985 NBA Finals rematch against the Lakers, then won one more game in the series. In 2017, LeBron James’ Cavaliers took Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals by 44, then lost Game 3 against the Celtics. And last week, the Nuggets looked dead after losing by 26 at home, then responded with back-to-back road wins — including a 115-107 victory Sunday night — to even their second-round series with the Timberwolves.
Indiana has seen such swings before, too.
The Pacers took Game 5 of the 2000 NBA Finals by 33, then went to Los Angeles and dropped the series in Game 6. In 2018, the Pacers beat James’ Cavs by 34 in Game 6 of their first-round series, then lost Game 7 on the road.
The Knicks were overdue for a no-show. It is remarkable that a coach asking so much from so few had received A-plus effort, execution and composure throughout the large majority of the first nine games of the postseason.
It is concerning that Jalen Brunson (18 points, 6-of-17 shooting) clearly isn’t at full strength.
It is seemingly unsustainable to have Josh Hart (two points) run a marathon after every tip-off.
And it is looking ever more likely the Knicks have seen the last of OG Anunoby in this series, with Sunday’s loss dropping the team to 13-16 without him in the lineup (26-5 with him) since he was acquired.
This best-of-seven is now a best-of-three, with Madison Square Garden in line to host twice.
It is there where these Knicks have become the city’s most beloved basketball team in a quarter-century, sporting a tenaciousness and selflessness that appeals to every person in every seat.
“New York is a team that has shown that it has an indomitable will to compete and rise above anything people say they can’t do,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 4. “We’ve seen it throughout the season. We’ve seen it in this series. We’re believers in that.”
You should be, too. One game shouldn’t change that.
Today’s back page
The Rangers make landfall
On Monday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), the Garden crowd will try to will the Rangers to the Eastern Conference finals. The alternative is a trip to “hell.”
After dropping their first game of the postseason in Saturday night’s Game 4 against the Hurricanes, the Rangers have another chance to close out the second-round series on the ice where they won a league-best 30 home games this season.
Should the Blueshirts stumble once more, Carolina will return home for Game 6, where the pressure will shift to the Presidents’ Trophy winners, looking to avoid becoming the fifth team in league history to blow a 3-0 series lead.
“They know they don’t want to come back. They know it’s going to be hell here,” Hurricanes forward Evgeny Kuznetsov told reporters Sunday. “We’re just trying to put the pressure on them a little bit and play our game.
“It’s just going to be a dogfight. There is one bowl of food and two dogs are going to compete [with] each other.”
It has been the theme of the series. Each game has been decided by one goal, including one in double overtime and another after just 1:43 of OT.
Igor Shesterkin will stand in net for the Rangers — after allowing more than three goals in Game 4 for the first time in 31 playoff starts — but the Hurricanes haven’t publicly committed to a starting goalie.
Frederik Andersen, who missed most of the season because of a blood-clotting injury, has made eight of nine starts for the Hurricanes in the postseason, but the 34-year-old didn’t look sharp in Game 4, is facing questions about his fitness and is 4-7 in elimination games. Pyotr Kochetkov made 40 starts for the Hurricanes this season and ranked second in the NHL in goals against average (2.33), but the 24-year-old Russian has made just one start in the past month, stopping 22 of 25 shots in the 3-2 overtime loss to Rangers in Game 3.
Judge on his merits
All rise — whoever booed Aaron Judge less than one month into the season.
In three short weeks since the Yankees captain heard boos in The Bronx, Judge is back to resembling the game’s most feared slugger, hitting his fourth home run in the past seven games in Sunday’s 10-6 win over the Rays.
Judge’s 10th homer of the season was one of five blasts hit by the Bombers — including a pair by Jose Trevino — who have won seven of their past nine games.
After going deep in just three of his first 24 games this season, Judge now has homered in seven of the past 18.
After a loss in Milwaukee on April 26, the former MVP was batting .178 with a .674 OPS. After going 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs on Sunday, Judge’s average has risen to .239, with an .839 OPS, having hit .387 with nine RBIs in the past nine games.
Soaring to No. 1
Tanking in the NBA will never be fully eradicated. But justifying it has only grown more difficult.
The Hawks (36-46) entered Sunday with a 3 percent chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery and left with the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history — they were the fifth-biggest long shot ever to claim No. 1 in the lottery — while the Rockets (41-41) leapt six spots to grab the No. 3 pick.
The Pistons (14-68), who shared a league-best 14 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick for the second straight year, ended up at No. 5, landing with the worst possible outcome in consecutive years.
The incentive to tank has diminished since 2019. Before then, the team with the league’s worst record had a 25 percent chance to claim the top pick, with the second-worst (19.9 percent) and third-worst (15.6 percent) teams holding better odds than the worst team does today.
This year’s draft doesn’t offer a generational prize such Victor Wembanyama, but the Hawks are projected to use the top pick on another French center in 7-foot-1 Alex Sarr.
What we’re reading 👀
⚾ Brandon Nimmo, who had started on the bench due to a rib injury, hit a two-run walkoff home run as the Mets salvaged the series finale from the Braves.
⚾ Let’s talk pitchers: The Yankees’ Luis Gil (4-1, 2.51 ERA) continued to impress with six shutout innings. The Mets’ Kodai Senga entered a mysterious “he’s not feeling his mechanics” phase of his rehab from a shoulder injury.
⛳ It’s PGA Championship week with Rory McIlroy cruising toward a showdown with Masters winner Scottie Scheffler.
⛳ Nelly Korda’s win streak ended at five as 21-year-old phenom Rose Zhang won on the LPGA Tour.
⚽ A shocking allegation was levied against NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing following the team’s post-match scuffle with Toronto.
⚽ Gotham FC has points from its past four games after Ella Stevens’ brilliant goal led to a 1-1 draw at San Diego.
🏒 Over in the PWHL — it’s playoff time, baby — New York parted ways with its head coach after a last-place season.
