Well here we are. The situation we hoped the Knicks could avoid after their comeback win Saturday night in Indianapolis. But alas the Knicks will come home from the home of the Indy 500, on the verge of running out of race rack. The 130-121 loss was the kind of game you could see coming after the Pacers let a stranglehold get away in game three. They dialed up the offensive intensity and the Knicks, try as they might, couldn’t match it or more importantly stop it. Defense has been an issue in this series and it continued in game four.

As absolutely annoying as he is, credit must be given where it’s due, Tyrese Haliburton was fabulous for the Pacers in this one. He put up a triple double, 32 points, 12 boards, and 15 assists, with playoff master Pascal Siakam backing him up with 30 points of his own. The Pacers bench, the biggest thorn in the side I’ve seen in sometime, did their handiwork as well, and out scored the Knicks backups. Not even nine more minutes of the Delon Wright led rotation from game three was enough.

The Knicks “adjustments” from game three carried into tonight, and by and large were ineffective. The most damning thing that can be said about this group, as lovable as they are, is that they are a disaster defensively. A fact that is hard to wrap your head around considering how healthy they were all year, yet they lack chemistry at that end of the floor. We know Brunson and Towns are weak links on defense, but there has to be more than can be done as a five man unit than to sit and watch yourself get embarrassed repeatedly. Indiana has just had too many easy looks and makes in this series as a result of sloppiness on defense, something that just can’t happen this time of year.

So now the Knicks must fend off elimination at The Mecca, the last place anyone wants to see the Pacers celebrate. Obviously this is a low feeling right now, the worst of the playoffs this year amongst the fan base. It really felt like the Knicks turn to at least make a trip to the finals, in spite of how well Indiana was playing in their other series. But it’s no team’s right to go anywhere, everything must be earned. What stings even more is that the Knicks are in this position because they found away to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in game one of this series.

You may not want to hear this part right now, and that’s fine, but the fact is, this series isn’t over. Every game in this series has been close, and the Knicks have it in them to shock everyone here and comeback to win this series. They have been shocking people since last round started, and can do it again here. It will take them getting back to basics and executing at both ends of the floor, and while one half of that equation hasn’t been a problem, the other is a major issue. But they’ll need to compete harder for a full four quarters, something that should come quite easy with the Garden faithful at their backs.

Come home and don’t let them close the Garden. Force this series back to Indy and see how they manage real game pressure. The Pacers haven’t played past five games in a series, and while they have handled late game situations well, if this series tightens they just may too. Get this to game six and turn the screws on them. One possession, one quarter and (hopefully) one game at a time.

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.