2013 Playoffs: Pacers’ focus wavers as Knicks stay alive
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
You can’t help but think the Pacers just gave this game away.
The ailing New York veterans didn’t look all that improved from two humiliating losses in Indianapolis, but I’m not sure the Pacers carried over their attentiveness and concentration. The Knicks at least got more of a team-wide effort Thursday, giving needed help to scoring dynamos Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith to brush off the Pacers 85-75 in Game 5. The victory kept Indiana a win away from an Eastern Conference finals showdown with Miami, with another potential clincher in Game 6 on Saturday in Indianapolis.
From left to right, the box score hinted at a widespread mental lapse from the Pacers. Most jarringly, this was the first game all series that New York never trailed. The Knicks had been forcing turnovers all series but constantly giving up second shots, leading to a general deficit of energy and toughness, but Thursday it was the Pacers who wore down, finishing with just four offensive rebounds in the second half.
Look closer, and the theme expands. The Knicks had a 7-2 edge in fast-break points, and it was a run-out by Raymond Felton that pushed the lead back to 10 with 4:39 to play. The Pacers had only a tiny edge in overall rebounds, 43-40. And most stunningly, points in the paint found the Knicks almost even at 32-30 – Indiana had controlled that category handily in seven of 10 playoff games, while New York was last in the regular season at scoring in the lane. The Pacers compounded matters by missing 14 of 33 free throws.
-It was a bad game for us,” forward Paul George said. -We didn’t play well. They looked to be aggressive. That’s maturity for our team. That’s got to be growth for us.”
As for focus, Roy Hibbert’s comments were telling.
-We just did not come to play,” said Indiana’s center, who had been having a big series until Thursday’s 3-of-7 stinker. -We didn’t deserve to win.”
Pacers coach Frank Vogel wanted his team to treat this contest as the biggest game of the season, and why not? His streaking bunch looked like they were ready to carry momentum right into the rematch with the Heat following Tuesday’s win. But come Thursday, for whatever reason, they just didn’t seem ready to play. George and David West took more than half (35) of the team’s 69 shots, and without George Hill (concussion sustained in Game 4), there was no flow or purpose whatsoever to the offense.
Conversely, New York got a few things to click. Several Knicks were mired in mighty slumps, most notably Smith. But the Sixth Man of the Year swished a triple on his first attempt and made four of his initial eight in a 13-point performance.
-There were some highs in our offense where we got some good ball movement and some good passing,” coach Mike Woodson said. -Everybody kind of filled in and did their part to secure the win.”
Indiana’s best chance of stealing Game 5 slipped away early, as the Pacers failed to turn 8-of-26 first-quarter shooting by the Knicks into a lead and paid the price in the middle periods when New York began making shots (18-of-35).
-We were just out of sync,” Vogel said. -You can’t be sloppy. We have to play better.”
Incessant Indiana turnovers have been a continuing theme in this series, and Thursday they were crushing. An 11-4 New York run early in the third quarter broke open a two-point game and built a hill which the Pacers couldn’t climb.
-That’s our Achilles heel,” said George, who’s been charged with 25 of the Pacers’ 89 turnovers in the series. -That third quarter we had a couple possessions where we just didn’t do a good job of handling the pressure.”
-We just didn’t play with enough focus and urgency,” said West, who was the lone Indiana player scoring the ball in the first half. He shook off a three-game scoring malaise to finish with 17 points, an output closer to his norm.
He was one of only three Pacers players in double figures. Meanwhile, the Knicks got a huge game from the bench, and it wasn’t just Smith’s offensive punch – reserves came up with six steals and three blocks, while Kenyon Martin flitted around the paint as the roll man on screen-and-rolls to score seven points.
More noticeably the Knicks got 13 points in 19 minutes from Chris Copeland, and 35 points and 14 rebounds from the group overall. Mike Woodson got 88 minutes out of his bench, compared to 54 for the short-handed, not-as-deep Pacers. The subs were so good that at the start of the second quarter they extended the lead against Indiana’s starters, even with Anthony on the bench.
Another notable development that spoke to the Pacers’ off-kilter awareness was foul trouble. Elite defenders Hibbert and George each picked up their fifth fouls prior to the 5-minute mark of the fourth quarter, and it made a difference on at least one play as George was reticent to challenge Felton’s aforementioned breakaway layup.
Stepping back, the Pacers shouldn’t make too much of this defeat. The odds still tilt heavily in their favor, as New York has tried this 3-1 comeback deal 12 times before and never succeeded. Going forward, the biggest question centers around the health of Hill and whether he’ll be able to go in Game 6. He told the New York Daily News he was uncertain of his status. The Pacers ordinarily have enough to win without him.
On Thursday, it was no mystery why they struggled. They just weren’t engaged mentally. Yet New York is still the team feeling the pressure, as they have to play a lot better Saturday on the road or their 54-win season will come to an end. Indiana shredded the Knicks in two prior games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and one must fairly assume the Pacers will be more locked-in, focused, anxious and determined when this series resumes in less than 48 hours.
