Mikal Bridges provided a half-joking, half-serious answer to the Knicks’ second-half woes of their first-round playoff sequence towards the Detroit Pistons.
“We gotta maybe do some layup lines or something coming out of halftime — get everybody out there moving,” Bridges stated after Tuesday’s 106-103 Sport 5 loss at Madison Sq. Backyard.
At this level, Miles McBride stated something may assist.
The Knicks have misplaced each third quarter on this sequence — 5 straight — and their minus-28 web score in third quarters is the worst amongst all playoff groups. A 16-point first-half lead became an 11-point deficit getting into the fourth quarter of Sport 5, a theme that has repeated itself all through the sequence.
The Pistons have held a lead in each fourth quarter of the sequence and have outscored the Knicks by a mixed 33 factors in third quarters alone. Regardless of New York’s clear benefit in playoff expertise and star energy, Detroit continues to punch first after halftime.
“Yeah, we’ve got to figure out how to come out of halftime better,” stated Josh Hart, who exited Tuesday’s sport with ache in his wrist, again, and — as he described it — “my whole body.”
“I think this is the third game in a row — I’m blanking on Games 1 and 2 — but we go into halftime with a lead, and then we go into the fourth quarter down,” Hart stated. “So we’ve got to figure that out. We’ve got to come out of halftime more aggressive and punch first.”
The end result? Three straight video games determined by a single possession. The Knicks gained Sport 3 by two factors and Sport 4 by one earlier than dropping Sport 5 by three. In a sequence that would simply have been over, the Pistons are nonetheless alive — and heading again to Detroit with renewed momentum.
“We put ourselves in a deficit early. All series, we’ve been fighting back. I’m not sure right now. I’ve got to watch the tape,” stated Karl-Anthony Cities. “I feel for us, we’ve received to do a greater job of executing at a better degree, keep disciplined with the ball, [moving] the basketball a bit of higher.
“We haven’t put ourselves in position to get a commanding win. We’ve been very gritty this whole series and physical and it’s allowed us to find a way a lot of times to win. I think what was the point differential in Detroit, like three points? You only can do it so many times before it comes back to bite you. I think that tonight, we put ourselves in that position and we just didn’t find a way to get that match going.”
Bridges referenced his time with the Phoenix Suns as inspiration for the “layup lines” suggestion. That workforce overcame related sluggish second-half begins en path to the 2021 NBA Finals.
“I had the same situation when I was in Phoenix,” he stated. “We began the third quarter off [slow], and we needed to change one thing — get everyone on the market to begin transferring. Mentally, get everyone proper.
“As much as we say ‘play hard,’ and say we’re gonna do what we say every time, we still don’t get it done. Maybe warming up or something can get us going a little bit.”
Group captain Jalen Brunson wasn’t fast to co-sign the concept, however acknowledged the issue.
“As a team we recognized they we’re starting games strong, and we responded,” Brunson stated. “However now we’ve received to do the identical factor popping out of halftime. It’s a extremely essential stretch, these first couple minutes. Tonight they took benefit of that.
“[Layup lines] could be [an answer],” he added. “But more than that, we’ve got to come together and make sure we’re mentally locked in.”
INJURY WATCH & BRUNSON’S STRUGGLES
Hart confirmed his fall late within the fourth quarter left him battered: “Wrist, back — yeah,” he stated. When requested which wrist, he smiled: “My whole body’s bothering me.”
Brunson, in the meantime, scored 30 or extra in every of the primary 4 video games of the sequence however completed with simply 16 factors on 4-of-16 taking pictures in Sport 5, together with seven assists and 4 turnovers.
“Offensively, I didn’t make good decisions personally,” he stated. “The ball wasn’t going in the hoop for me. I just have to control what I can control and go from there.”
Second-year Pistons wing Ausar Thompson has been the first defender on Brunson all through the sequence.
“He’s a great defender,” Brunson stated. “The way he’s been able to pick up [full court] and do all the little things — like I said, he’s a great defender. Me personally, and as a team, we’ve got to figure out how to combat that.”
Initially Printed: April 30, 2025 at 11:03 AM EDT
