Annnnnnnnd exhale. Another night, another heart stopper at the Garden. It’s becoming the theme of our lives in this town but we wouldn’t change a thing about it. The Knicks got the job done Monday night at MSG 121-117 to take a 1-0 series lead against a Pacers squad that really outplayed them. That’s the good news, but let’s start with the things the Knicks did wrong.

There were three key things the Knicks did wrong in this game. The first was their 14 turnovers, a big jump from their average of around ten in round one against Philly. The second was a surprising lack of advantage on the glass, as they only out rebounded Indiana 40-32 despite a size advantage down low. And the third and final issue was on the defensive end of the floor, as they gave Indiana a ton of easy looks, en route to shooting 52% from the floor. The Knicks couldn’t guard the pick and roll all night and allowed to score off 32 team assists.

The good news is, the Knicks did all of that wrong yet they still managed to win the game. That comeback effort was led by the Villanova trio, as Divo, Hart and Brunson were outstanding while putting in iron man performances. As the graphic above shows, they played virtually the entire game and accounted for a huge chunk of the Knicks offense. These three along with Isaiah Hartenstein and OG Anunoby continued to make clutch plays down the stretch that electrified the Garden.

While I understand Thibs desire to ride his workhorses to the finish line each night, given how often they make plays like you see above. But, as talked about in our preview, the Knicks need to lengthen their rotation. Thibodeau hardly played Deuce McBride on Monday, and failed to get Precious Achiuwa more involved. That simply cannot continue or they risk fully burning the big guns out. More Achiuwa and more McBride, and tossing in a third guy would go a long way in this series.

At the end of the day the Knicks have adjustments to make and errors to correct going into game two, but they will look to do that up a game. If they can make the corrections and get their legs under them, the Knicks have a great chance to take control of this series. A two game lead heading for Indy would be huge, but it won’t come easy as the Pacers look up for the battle and are well coached. The Garden party continues Tuesday night as the Rangers take on the Canes in game two. Let’s keep the good vibes rolling!

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