INDIANAPOLIS — As Jalen Brunson took accountability for his defensive shortcomings within the Knicks’ 130-121 Sport 4 loss to the Pacers on Tuesday, his co-star Karl-Anthony Cities made positive the blame didn’t fall squarely on the crew’s captain.
“We all have to be better for him. It’s not just him, it’s all of us,” Cities stated, seated beside Brunson on the podium after New York fell right into a 3-1 gap within the Jap Convention Finals. “He’s Cap. In fact, he’s going to talk with the very best regard. As a crew we have now to all do higher. It’s not simply him, it’s all of us. All of us need to do a greater job of constructing it tougher for every considered one of them to attain.
“Tonight we didn’t do that as a team, not just him. A team. If you write anything write about the team.”
Brunson gave Cities a pat on the again as the 2 exited the interview room, strolling off collectively after a troublesome loss. The All-Star guard completed with 31 factors and 5 assists on 9-of-19 taking pictures, however the Knicks had been outscored by 16 in his 37 minutes on the ground. They gained Cities’ 37 minutes by three.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau pointed to a collective breakdown on the defensive finish, significantly in opposition to Indiana’s fixed movement and quick-hitting offensive actions.
“You’re not guarding the ball individually, so you have to be in the gaps,” Thibodeau stated. “You also gotta read whether the drive is a penetrating drive or a flat drive. Everyone’s gotta be tied together. If we’re giving gaps up, there’s gonna be seams. We have to do better at that.”
Cities’ feedback adopted Brunson’s reply to a query about his protection in pick-and-roll coverages, significantly when focused by All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton delivered a masterclass: 32 factors, 15 assists, zero turnovers.
“I’m not doing enough. I could sit here and be very detail-oriented about certain things, but obviously not good enough,” Brunson stated. “There has to be a difference on my part when it comes to that.”
The defensive struggles had been felt throughout the roster.
“I feel like we just didn’t have an on-ball presence, an off-ball presence, rim protection,” stated Miles McBride. “Honestly, our communication, a lot of talk from us, just wasn’t there.”
The Pacers’ tempo has saved the Knicks scrambling. They’ve repeatedly pushed the tempo off each makes and misses, initiating offense with 18–20 seconds nonetheless on the shot clock. Sport 4 was the second time this collection Indiana cracked 130 factors — and the seventh time this postseason they’ve scored 120 or extra.
“I think it’s difficult for any team. You gotta commit. You can stop one action and then it’s the next action and it’s the next action,” stated Josh Hart. “If one domino falls, a couple times you play good defense, my man made a back cut and got a layup. That’s one person’s mess-up, messing up the whole possession. Obviously they’re running good stuff but we have to make sure that we’re physical and locked in and just make it tough for them.”
Brunson has all the time taken losses personally and shared the credit score in wins. That didn’t change Tuesday, even with the Knicks dealing with elimination.
“It’s a copycat league, but a lot of teams have different identities. Their identity is playing fast, make or miss, run the floor. We just got to follow our game plan and be disciplined,” Brunson stated. “We weren’t disciplined tonight. I wasn’t disciplined. We just have to be smarter. I have to be smarter. It’s really that way.”
Cities made positive the postgame dialog wasn’t solely about Brunson’s miscues.
“We all got to be better. We all have to be better as a team,” he stated. “It’s unfortunate we all couldn’t find a way to win tonight, and we found a way to win in all the other series.”
