In an astonishing turn of events, the New York Knicks led the Indiana Pacers by 14 points with under three minutes remaining in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals and lost. The Knicks' defeat was equal parts stunning and historic.
Thanks to red-hot shooting from Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith and some last-second heroics from guard Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana forced overtime and ultimately prevailed in the additional period.
Knicks do-it-all guard Josh Hart, the beating heart of the Knicks, has an idea of how it all went so wrong.
A candid Hart spoke to reporters about what the Knicks did—or didn't do—that led to their demise on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
"We didn't close the game out. Feel like our intensity dropped. We started playing slower, playing more into their hands."
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 22, 2025
Josh Hart talks about the Knicks' fourth-quarter collapse in their loss to the Pacers: pic.twitter.com/GHm7ZCl0jR
"We didn't close the game out," Hart said flatly. "I feel like our intensity dropped. We started playing slower and playing more into their hands. We let that one slip. And now we just gotta make sure tomorrow we go in, we watch tape and see where we could have been better. And right back Friday."
The Knicks were outscored 23-9 in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter during a span in which Nesmith drained six three-pointers to ultimately bring the Pacers within two points of the Knicks. New York missed a pair of three-point attempts and free throws while committing a turnover in the game's final three minutes.
"It looked like we were playing not to lose. We've got to make sure we don't make that mistake again."
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 22, 2025
Josh Hart talks about what went wrong for the Knicks down the stretch: pic.twitter.com/J9xbpuy4v8
"We didn't finish the game out," Hart continued. "Like I said, we didn't run through that finish line. Defensively we didn't have—we let off the gas. The intensity and physicality wasn't there. Offensively, we were playing slower. A little stagnant and looked like we were playing not to lose. So we gotta make sure we don't make that mistake again.
"Obviously, it's a tough one. We're all disappointed in it. But the series is not over after one game."
It was hard not to draw parallels between Wednesday night's loss and the Knicks' fourth quarter collapse against the Pacers 31 years ago in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. But New York can take solace in the fact that it picked itself up off the mat and went on to win that series. Plus, these resilient Knicks have shown they're no strangers to thrilling comebacks.
Game 2 of the conference finals is on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Josh Hart Candidly Explained How Knicks Collapsed in Stunning Loss vs. Pacers.
