The Knicks ran out of gas and their season ended in crushing fashion.
Falling behind early, the Knicks’ comeback attempts were in vain and their season ended Sunday with a 130-109 loss in Game 7 to the Pacers at the Garden in the second round of the playoffs.
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The Knicks, who entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the East, couldn’t handle Indiana in front of a star-studded crowd that included Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, John McEnroe, Travis Scott and Jon Stewart.
And to top it all off, after countless injuries already suffered, Jalen Brunson fractured his left hand in the second half to end his afternoon.
The Knicks trailed by 15 at halftime after the Pacers shot an unfathomable 76.3 percent from the field in the first 24 minutes.
The Knicks pulled back a bit in the third, but the Pacers fought back and would never relinquish their lead.
This is the second straight year the Knicks have been eliminated in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
They haven’t reached a conference final since 2000.
Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers also rubbed salt on the wound for Knicks fans.
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ESPN cameras captured Haliburton, who signed a five-year, A$304 million contract in April, yelling and pointing at fans as he walked toward the Pacers bench after the Knicks called a timeout with 2:03 remaining in the first game. quartertime and the Pacers leading 34-22.
“You like this shit,” he appeared to tell fans.
Haliburton was seen talking shit to a fan after hitting a 3-point basket and heading up the court with 3:57 left in the first quarter.
With a minute left, Haliburton hit another triple for his 14th point of the quarter and you could see him pointing at the fans once again.
Haliburton was Indiana’s leading scorer with 26 points while Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard contributed 20 points each.
This story was originally published on the New York Post and has been republished with permission
