The New York Knicks suffered their first preseason loss at the hands of the Pacers, losing 109-100. Sixth overall pick Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana to a comeback win against New York.
The New York Knicks got out to a hot start, leading by 10 points after the first quarter. However, by halftime, the Indiana Pacers cut that lead down to only six points, then two points by the end of the third, and finally ended up winning the game by nine points at the end of the fourth.
RJ Barrett leads offensive efforts
RJ Barrett led the team in scoring, finishing with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists, for the second time out of the three postseason games played so far. He had an efficient game, from the field overall, shooting 50%, but shot a putrid 20% from three. The Knicks will be relying on Barrett’s scoring this season, so he needs to find a way to become more consistent from behind the arc.
On a positive note, Barrett made 6 out of his 7 free throw attempts. So far he has only missed one free throw on 11 tries in the preseason, a great sign for the Knicks. Barrett has struggled with his free throw shooting in the past and if he can improve from the charity stripe, it could greatly boost his scoring numbers.
Quiet showings for the starters overall
The rest of the Knicks’ starters had fairly quiet nights, with no one else scoring above 15 points. Julius Randle did contribute in the assist category, finishing tied for team-high assists with five (Isaiah Hartenstein had 5 as well). Jalen Brunson was not far behind, contributing three assists to the team total.
The final two starters, Evan Fournier and Mitchell Robinson, had pedestrian nights. Fournier shot a poor 2-5 from three, 3-9 overall, ending with eight points. Robinson had eight points and eight rebounds.
By no means were the starters lighting it up, but the main issue in the Knicks’ deficiencies came from their bench. Out of the six bench players who played, the average plus-minus was -16.3, compared to +10.6 for the starting unit.
Bench troubles
The bench as a whole shot an underwhelming 4-22 from three. Immanuel Quickley, a known three-point shooter, shot 2-7 from behind the arc. Obi Toppin once again had a poor performance from three, making zero shots on three attempts. Cam Reddish, who is trying to solidify his role in the Knicks rotation, did himself no favors in the loss. Reddish shot only 3-10 from the field and 1-6 from downtown. His shot selection also continues to be in question, taking many ill-advised step-backs and contested attempts.
New York is going to need better offensive output from bench members in the future. The imminent arrival of sixth man Derrick Rose, a calming veteran presence, could help the younger Knicks.
One of the bright spots on the Knicks bench however was the playmaking of Hartenstein. He finished the game with five assists, tied with Randle for the most on the team. Hartenstein showed his playmaking prowess with a plethora of tough passes, including a nice give-and-go bounce pass to Miles McBride.
Defensive lapses and offensive struggles
On the defensive side of the ball, the Knicks let up 54 points in the paint, compared to only scoring 42. The Pacers were driving to the basket at will, with New York putting up little resistance. The Knicks’ defense was lackluster in transition as well, giving up 22 points.
On offense, the team as a whole shot only 37.1% from the field and 26.8% from three. In recent years the Knicks have been one of the better three-point shooting teams in the league, so hopefully, this is just an outlier in the teams’ shooting percentage from behind the arc.
A rookie putting the Knicks on notice
New York was also unable to stop rookie Bennedict Mathurin. Coming into the NBA, Mathurin was known for his scoring and athleticism, and he proved it through the Pacers’ win. He finished with a game-high 27 points on 8-13 shooting and 11-12 from the line. Mathurin capped off the win with an emphatic windmill dunk, completing the come-from-behind victory.
The Knicks look to put this game behind them and focus on their final preseason matchup against the Wizards.