Knicks' Passive Game 4 Attitudes May Have Cost the Series

These Eastern Conference Finals have come down to which team wins with the fourth quarter run.

Both the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers have gotten within a round of the NBA Finals due to crunch-time heroics, whether it was the Knicks' consistent ability to cap off 20-point comebacks or the Pacers stabbing a team in the heart by erasing insurmountable-looking leads in seconds.

We've gotten all of the clutch chaos we could have asked for through four games, with the Pacers getting the series started on another whirlwind win to steal Game 1 before the Knicks returned a punch with one of their token lead erasures, the third-such time they've stormed back from such a deficit in these playoffs.

They looked posed to do it again when the Pacers took a 111-96 lead into the final 10 minutes of Game 4, except we were met with no sudden momentum from the Knicks. The Pacers couldn't quite put them away for some time, allowing the lead to shrink to as little as six before NEw York eventually ran out of time.

They lacked that two-way intensity they once demonstrated down the stretch of some tight games against the Boston Celtics in advancing past the second round, and it showed in their postgame comments.

some truly alarming comments from the Knicks after the loss last night:

KAT: “We didn’t match their pace and their inspiration, too. We just didn’t match what they came to do tonight to start the game."

Mitch Rob: “They played with more intensity. We should’ve matched it.”…
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) May 28, 2025

Everyone, from their key on-court contributors to their head coach, cited their missing intensity and focus, confirming that they picked an inconceivable time to come out passive.

It's not like the Pacers were sitting ducks, either; Tyrese Haliburton's 32-point triple-double with 15 assists and no turnovers registered as his best game in the midst of an all-time playoff run, and his aggression was evident in his every move.

While he recognized the importance of going up 3-1 in winning the first home game of the series, the Knicks looked lethargic. Their defense looked out-of-order while Indiana stopper Aaron Nesmith shut down Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges reverted into a pumpkin in soaking up all of the shots in the clutch and the Pacers ended up taking a near-double-digit lead into the close.

They now sit one game away from their first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years and a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder, while the Knicks have to pull off a stunner of stunners to have another chance at advancing.

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