The Knicks knew they needed to fix their alarming turnover issue in order to survive a do-or-die road Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers and push the Eastern Conference Finals to a pivotal Game 7 at home. But no plan was put into action once they stepped onto the court with the season on the line. The glaring trend ultimately caused their demise.
Careless possessions and poor communication burned the Knicks again on Saturday night, as a whopping 18 turnovers that produced 34 points sealed their fate in a season-ending 125-108 loss to the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Their hopes of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in over a quarter-century were swiftly dashed.
There wasn’t a turnover conundrum for the Knicks during the regular season. They averaged the fifth-fewest across that 82-game slate (13.3), and during the first two rounds of the playoffs, their mark was slightly lower (12.9). But an average of 15.5 turnovers in six East Finals contests fueled the Pacers in transition and shaped several outcomes.
“They played well, they played fast. Turnovers were tough for us,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said after the loss. “We had some lapses in communication. In the postseason, you can’t do that. You can’t give away possessions, you can’t give away games. You’ve got to tip your cap to them… You can’t give away games in the playoffs. It’s tough. We’re all disappointed and frustrated.”
The stunning swings the Knicks endured throughout the series were triggered by mediocre ball control, and the Pacers took full advantage of those blunders. New York’s average turnover mark resulted in Indiana posting 23.3 points per game on those mistakes and 17.6 points per game on the fast break.
No surprise, the Knicks’ biggest catalyst was also their biggest culprit. Of the 93 total turnovers committed against the Pacers, de facto captain Jalen Brunson was responsible for one-quarter of them (24). Karl-Anthony Towns also gave the ball up 16 total times in the series, and the team’s All-Star tandem combined for only 41 points in Game 6. Each Knicks starter finished Saturday with a plus-minus mark in the negative teens.
“It’s definitely tough to look ahead, but even when you win, it’s always about what’s next,” Brunson said. “Regardless, we’re going to go into the summer and going to work. We’re going to get better and figure out a way how we can change this outcome. It’s going to start with us and our mentality, making sure we’ve got to take it one game at a time. We can’t jump right back to the Conference Finals.”
The renewed playoff rivalry was centered around discipline. In the first five games of the series, the Knicks conceded 106 points on 75 turnovers, while only logging 46 points off of the Pacers’ giveaways. The Knicks also turned the ball over 15-plus times in five of their six meetings.
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