In the second round of G4, the Pacers defeated the Knicks 121-89 at home, and the score was chased to 2-2.
In the previous three games, the two teams all played to the last minute, and the difference in the three games added up to only 18 points, but in this G4, the Pacers blew up the Knicks in the first quarter, leading by 20 points at 34-14 in a single quarter and by 28 points at halftime 69-41;
In the third quarter, the Knicks' offense still did not improve, and the Pacers played another wave of 32-22 in a single quarter, with a score difference of nearly 40 points, so the Knicks withdrew their main force and announced their surrender one quarter earlier.
For the Knicks, it was undoubtedly a painful loss.
Brunson, who has created miracles many times before and has 40+ games in a row, is no longer magical, and only played 31 minutes in this game, shooting 6-of-17, 0-of-5 three-pointers, and 6-of-9 free throws, and only got 18 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.
Brunson played a very difficult game all the time, as long as he caught the ball, he was bound to be entangled by the Pacers, and he started to defend from the beginning of the half, and his physical exertion was extremely exertional, and his 18 points also set his personal low in this year's playoffs.
At the same time, Villanova's other two Jay also pulled:
Hart had enough rest in this game, only played 24 minutes, shot 1-of-6 from the field, 0-of-2 from three-point range, only got 2 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and his plus/minus was -29;
DiVincenzo played 32 minutes, shooting 3-of-13 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range for seven points, five rebounds and four assists, and his plus/minus was an explosive plus/minus of -40.
As a comparison, in the series G1, that is, the first time the Knicks won, Brunson alone scored 43 points, and the three Villanova Jays combined to score 92 points, but in this game, Brunson, Hart, and DiVincenzo combined for a total of only 27 points - without Anunoby, the three Jays played like this, and the Knicks could not win.
Speaking of the Pacers, this one is completely into their rhythm.
At the beginning of the game, the Pacers ran and accelerated, and the shooting rate was extremely high, directly knocking down the opponent in the first quarter, and the whole game, the Pacers team's shooting rate was as high as 56.8%, and the three-point shooting rate was 45.2%, as a comparison, the Knicks' shooting rate was only 33.7%, and the three-point shooting rate was 18.9%.
Haliburton continued the form of G2 and G3, playing only 28 minutes in the game, handing over 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and his plus/minus was +27, the highest in the game;
Siakam only scored 14 points, but he also played only 22 minutes and shot 7-of-9 from the field.
Turner did the same, playing only 26 minutes, shooting 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range, finishing with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and also dishing out 3 blocks and 1 steal.
It is particularly worth mentioning McConnell, in the previous three games, McConnell's performance has not been bad, especially in the two games of loss, G1 18 points and 3 assists in a single game, G2 10 points and 12 assists in a single game;
McConnell also had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals in this game, and his performance as a backup point guard was definitely commendable, and in some games, he was even better than Haliburton.
This Pacers, objectively speaking, has some luck to get to this point, after all, the first-round opponent Bucks injured Brother Alphabet, Lillard also missed two games, and after the start of the second round, the Knicks, who were already full of injuries, injured Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby;
However, luck is also part of the game, and the Pacers' offense is indeed worthy of recognition, in the regular season, their offensive efficiency is 120.5, second in the league, and so far in the playoffs, the offensive efficiency is 120.8, first in the league.
Talking about this round, obviously, the Knicks are in trouble.
Although the Knicks still have home-court advantage, the next game will be the first time without Anunoby's home court, and G4 they have suffered such a heavy defeat that it is basically impossible not to hit morale.
The Knicks have very little room to adjust right now, and the only hope is that Brunson continues to explode, but the Pacers seem to have found a way to deal with Brunson, who has scored less than 30 points in three straight games.
The only good news is that Brunson, Hart, DiVincenzo and Harden all got more rest time for this game, but after less than 48 hours, it is estimated that they will be in full mode again.
One question worth pondering, is Thibodeau a good coach at all? Many people may give a negative answer, but if you think about it, the series is at this time, if you want to win, who else can you rely on if you don't rely on these few?