INDIANAPOLIS – They left it in Miami.
The energy, the drive, the competitive fire, none of it made it out of south Florida. At least, not in the first quarter.
None of the Knicks wanted to admit that the seven-game endurance test against the Heat would exact a heavy toll with a one-day turnaround for the Eastern Conference Finals. One day off was enough, they said, to get themselves physically and mentally in tune to wipe away memories of the Heat and gear up for the Pacers.
When it was time last night to turn words into action, when it was time to hit the accelerator, the Knicks had no gas in the tank. A slow start was not shocking to anyone, but the complete inability to rebound, defend, locate a loose ball or stick with Indiana shooters made for an overwhelmingly dreadful start. It took the Knicks a full 19 minutes to shake off the pace and half-court ferocity of the series that just ended and they never quite got it right in a 102-88 loss.
“It was a tough series with [the Heat],” Patrick Ewing said, “but I can’t use that as an excuse.”
In contrast to Miami’s bump-and-grind waltz, the Pacers came out looking to jitterbug, and the Knicks had all kinds of trouble keeping up with the steps. After one quarter, the Knicks had 17 points, which would have been acceptable in the snail-like tempo of the previous series. But it was dismal when matched against the run-and-stun Indiana attack, which erupted for 35 first-quarter points, shredding a usually-impenetrable Knicks ‘D’.
“With Miami we knew it was going to be a battle in the half court, both ways,” assistant coach Don Chaney said before the initial onslaught. “With Indiana, I’m not knocking their defense – I think they’re a good defensive team – but it will be a different type game. It’s not going to be a half-court battle. You’ll see more of an open game.”
Open game? You want open game? In one third-quarter sequence, Latrell Sprewell drove, found no resistance and never stopped until he slammed the ball home. It was a play that never was seen against Miami. But in a flash, the Pacers were racing back on offense, with Jalen Rose speeding by Sprewell for a breakaway dunk.
The open game nearly closed the Knicks out early and often. That Reggie Miller scored just four points in the first 12 minutes and the Pacers still built an 18-point lead was a testament to their firepower, and also proof of the Knicks playing as if in a fog.