Even with the comeback, Brunson and the Knicks spent most of their postgame interviews talking about how their lack of focus on defense did them in. “Obviously they do a really good job of moving the ball and forcing you into mistakes, and we have to be more sound defensively to guard the first action, second action, but also the third action,” Knicks wing Josh Hart said. “We’re down 0-2, and now we’re going to a tough place to play — Indiana — so we’ve got to go and fix it. We can’t have blown coverages, no matter how late it is in the shot clock.” Hart said the team’s defensive breakdowns late in the game were especially costly because they happened while the Knicks tried to mount their comeback. “In the playoffs, a lot of games are determined by a possession or two,” he said. “Two games in a row, we [made those mistakes]. We’ve got to figure it out.” -via ESPN / May 24, 2025
