The first round of this season's NBA playoffs has all ended, and many groups of series have been upset, among which the Pacers have eliminated the Bucks who have played the third record in the East in the regular season, and although the Knicks entered the playoffs with the second place in the East, the season reimbursement of Randle, the core of the interior, made the 76ers a more favored side, but Embiid once again confirmed the infamy of his soft eggs, Brunson led the remnants of the Knicks to the second round, this game day, the Knicks sat at home, ushered in the first game of the series with the Pacers, after the game started, the Knicks were led by Brunson, playing the momentum of the home court, but head coach Thibodeau's triathlon tactics allowed the Pacers to rely on the crushing performance of the second team and once saw the hope of winning on the road, but in the final quarter, the Knicks' starting five Tigers took over the game again and finally defeated the visiting Pacers 121-117!
Brunson outplayed the strongest point guard, and Hart was possessed by the god of war
The Pacers have been able to make great progress, and the rapid growth of Haliburton, the core of the organization, has contributed to it, but after the start of the playoffs, Haliburton's performance has fallen off a cliff, and his performance in the face of the Knicks is still difficult to say excellent, hitting only 2 of 6 shots, and only 6 points, 2 rebounds and 8 assists in personal data, without a trace of the strongest point guard in the league.
On the contrary, it was Brunson, who carried the Knicks to advance in the first round, and continued to perform in a big package, under the strict defense of the Pacers, Brunson still cut 44 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block of comprehensive personal data, under his tandem organization, the Knicks started the five Tigers scored all double-doubles, and Hart once again fought for 48 minutes, handing over a quasi-triple-double of 24 + 13 + 8 + 2 + 1, and DiVincenzo hit key shots in the last minute in a row, becoming the team's big man.
The Pacers were jealous of horse racing, but the core players did not give their strength
In all fairness, the Knicks and Pacers started the performance in this game, and the Knicks who played at home won completely, but in this situation, they still won very hard, and the most important reason was that the second team was too stretched, which was not because the strength of the players was poor, but because the head coach Thibodeau did not give a chance at all.
On the other hand, the Pacers gave the bench players a lot of autonomy in the game, allowing them to help the team at both offensive and defensive ends, and McConaughey, who came off the bench, made a team-high 16 shots, hitting 9 balls and cutting down 18 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 3 steals, under his leadership, the Pacers' second team scored a total of 46 points in this game, on the other hand, the Knicks only let McBride, Robinson and Avacho came off the bench and combined for just three points, but the Pacers' star players didn't step up in the final quarter and bury the bench's efforts.
Although the Knicks defended their home court in this game, fans are still very worried about their prospects of winning the series, and the reason is very simple, that is, it is difficult for the starting five to continue to play this game when the intensity of a series is maintained, and if Thibodeau wants to make the team go further, he needs to give the bench players more opportunities!