The Knicks finally showed glimpses of their firepower in making short work of the Pacers on Sunday. To argue that they were worked up in their home debut would be to understate the obvious. For one thing, they wanted to rid themselves of the bitter taste of defeat at the hands of the vaunted Celtics in their season opener on Wednesday. For another, they faced their tormentors in the immediate past Eastern Conference Finals, courtesy of a Game Seven swoon at the Garden.
In short, the Knicks were looking for more than a bounceback. They wanted revenge, and they were determined to show off their new look in the process. And, as expected, All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the charge; along with would-be rotation regulars Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, the stalwarts put up better numbers in blasting the visiting Pacers. The latter had been fresh off a road victory against the hapless Pistons, but proved unable to weather yet another pedestrian outing from Olympian Tyrese Haliburton.
To be sure, two games does not a campaign make. The small sample size gives little indication of how the rejiggered lineup can make the Knicks better equipped to take the measure of the acknowledged elite in the National Basketball Association, the title-bearing Celtics first and foremost. That said, there can be no denying that the 19.812 fans at MSG were treated to the very brand of hoops for which head coach Tom Thibodeau stands: relentless defense translated to efficient offense, sprinkled with no small measure of determination.
Certainly, the Knicks can pride themselves in preventing the high-octane Pacers to reach the century mark. Their perimeter coverage, in particular, was nothing short of stellar; they forced the blue and gold to miss a whopping 27 of 30 shots from behind the arc. Haliburton was especially atrocious, going zero of seven from three to bring his running aggregate to one of 16. As Thibodeau noted, “I loved the way our guys responded” to the previous loss. “The fight we showed was a lot greater.” And “the fight” is exactly how they aim to continue distinguishing themselves from the competition.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
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