The Knicks’ Recreation 1 loss on Wednesday was so devastating that it made Stephen A. Smith sick.
Throughout ESPN’s pregame protection forward of Thursday’s Western Convention finals matchup between the Thunder and Timberwolves, Smith mentioned that watching the Knicks’ loss made him so “nauseous” that he broke out a bottle of Pepto-Bismol throughout his rant.
“Well, I was nauseous,” Smith mentioned on the printed. “It was a disgusting performance, and we are going to give this [Pepto-Bismol] an advertisement here because every Knick fan needed this. If I could down this like some Sprite, I would do it right now.”
Regardless of being up by 14 with lower than three minutes left in regulation, the Knicks managed to let the lead evaporate, with Pacers level guard Tyrese Haliburton hitting a game-tying buzzer-beater, sending the sport to extra time.
The Knicks in the end misplaced within the additional body after scoring simply six factors within the sport’s ultimate three minutes, a efficiency that Smith referred to as a “choke job.”
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“Complete collapse, it was a choke job,” Smith added to his rant. “That’s right, that’s what I’m calling it. We are going to see what they will do to respond. Because let me tell you something right now, they look like a team that don’t practice. That’s how they look.”
The magnitude of the Knicks’ collapse has not often been seen all through NBA historical past, as they have been the primary workforce since 1998 to blow a nine-point lead within the ultimate minute of a playoff sport, in keeping with Elias Sports activities Bureau.
Knicks gamers have taken duty for the loss and seem prepared to come back again for Recreation 2 on Friday.
“We didn’t close the game out,” Josh Hart mentioned. “I really feel like our depth dropped. We began enjoying slower, enjoying extra into their arms.
“We let that one slip. … I feel like defensively, we let off the gas. Intensity and physicality weren’t there, offensively we were playing slower, a little stagnant, and looked like we were playing not to lose. We gotta make sure we don’t make that mistake again.”
