Knicks embarrassed by Pacers in lethargic Game 4 loss to tie series

NBA

By Stefan Bondy

INDIANAPOLIS — The Knicks absorbed a knockdown blow quickly and never got up.

Tom Thibodeau’s squad was a disaster in the opening quarter, a lethargic, misfiring mess before rolling over in a Mother’s Day Massacre administered by the Pacers, 121-89, who evened the East semis series at 2-2.

Jalen Brunson was again mired in inefficiency with just 18 points on 6-for-17 shooting, struggling to get in any rhythm against Aaron Nesmith and the Pacers’ hounding/disciplined defense.

The point guard and his crew were outworked and exhausted, uncharacteristically losing the energy and rebounding battles.

Their shorthanded roster and heavy starters minutes finally seemed to catch up with the Knicks, who have a day to recover before Tuesday’s swing game.

It’ll be the biggest contest of their season thus far.

And the latest injury update suggests it will happen without OG Anunoby, who, according to Thibodeau, hasn’t started running yet because of his strained hamstring.

Without Anunoby on Sunday, the Knicks were stomped from tip-off and let go of the rope as Tyrese Haliburton went off for 20 points in just 27 minutes.

Thibodeau, famously hesitant to pull his starters in blowouts, even raised the white flag in the third quarter by inserting Shake Milton and DaQuan Jeffries.

Josh Hart, the Iron Man, logged just 24 minutes.

Like the rest of the starters, he looked tired.

Their jump shots were short, particularly from Brunson, who has also been navigating a sore foot since Game 2.

The Knicks shot just 7-for-37 on 3-pointers. The ’Nova trio went a combined 1-for-13 from deep.

And the first quarter set the tone.

The Knicks trailed by 23 after just 10 ½ minutes amid awful shooting and Haliburton getting hot.

Some of the plays were just inexplicably sloppy for a team typically disciplined.

At one point, Jericho Sims, the Knicks’ worst ball handler, was left to bring up the rock under the Pacers press.

Turnover.

Ninety seconds later, Hart threw an inbounds pass to nobody in particular.

Turnover.

But the biggest problem was Brunson.

He couldn’t create his normal separation, perhaps still bothered by that sore foot even though he wasn’t listed on the injury report. Brunson shot 0-for-5 in the opening quarter, and the Knicks never recovered.