INDIANAPOLIS — Forty-eight hours ago, the Knicks were on the verge of taking a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference, and Donte DiVincenzo was a big factor in that.
On Sunday, the Knicks won, and the Pacers tied the series at 2-2 with a thorough victory, 121-89. DiVincenzo, among many other players, was responsible for the disastrous afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“I just came out and wasn’t ready,” DiVincenzo said. He followed up his 35-point performance in Game 3 with a disappointing 7-point, 3-of-13 buzzkill on Sunday. “They came out and attacked us first and kept going. They competed hard from start to finish. The bench players came in and competed harder, the starters competed harder. I just played with an edge that I didn’t play with.”
DiVincenzo held the company’s line on another important issue.
“Whether you lose by 30 or lose by 1, a loss is a loss,” he said. “You can take whatever you want out of it, but at the end of the day, mentally you just have to wash it off and get ready, because this is a seven-game series.”
And like the rest of the Knicks, he was sure they would leave behind the bad atmosphere that a blowout loss would have created on the Indiana border.
“We’ll be fine,” he said. “We’re not worried about it. I know this group and Tuesday will be another game. It has nothing to do with today. It’s always good to go home. , after a loss like this, it’s better to go home and everyone mentally hardens and prepares for the next game, so that we can also feed off that energy from the Garden. As I said, this group is going to respond.”
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Pacers manager Rick Carlisle made it clear through the first three games that he didn’t think the team protected DiVincenzo in a way worthy of his talent.
“I appreciate the comments,” he said. “But, you know, that’s the whole point of a playoff series. You make adjustments, and you know, they made adjustments tonight.
“We go in [Monday] Then we will make adjustments. There’s a reason it’s a seven-game series. ”
