Knicks must put blowout loss to Celtics in their rearview mirror entering matchup with Pacers
Jalen Brunson #11 of the Knicks works against Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the first half at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH — The Knicks are trying to look forward not back.
There was a lot of talk Monday at Knicks practice about the Eagles celebrating their Super Bowl win, about the injury status of OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, and about what the Knicks need to do to beat Indiana in Tuesday’s game in Indianapolis.
OK, there was also some talk about Boston, but for the most part Knicks players talked like a team ready to move on from the embarrassing 131-104 blowout loss to the Celtics on national television Saturday.
“It’s one game in an 82-game season,” Josh Hart said after practice Monday. “To be too hung upon that is idiotic. We could win tomorrow by 30 and everyone is super excited and we’re the best team in the league. Or we could lose by 30 and you know we have wasted talent and we should blow it up and figure it out. I think it’s idiotic to judge or base a season on a game-by-game basis.”
Added Jalen Brunson: “We can’t just dwell on what just happened. Obviously, we lost. We got our [butts] kicked. But how do we move forward from that? We just can’t sit there and feel sorry for ourselves.”
As bad as the Knicks looked Saturday night — and make no mistake, except for a brief period in the third quarter, they looked really bad — they still have won seven of their last nine games. What’s more, they are in a position to head into the All-Star break with their best record, winning percentage-wise, since 1996-97 when they were 34-14 (.708) at the break.
The Knicks (34-18, .654) need to win one of their two remaining games — Indiana on the road Tuesday and Atlanta at Madison Square Garden Wednesday — to head into All-Star weekend with the franchise’s best record in 28 years. Should they lose both games, the Knicks’ winning percentage would still be their best since 2012-13 (32-18, .640).
Of course, that’s not the only reason the Knicks should want to close out the first part of the season with a few wins. Just like a team wants to close out the first half of a game with a big bucket or two, it would help for the Knicks to knock out some wins before taking a seven-day break.
“It’s a long season,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It doesn’t change. Focus on each game. You learn from each game. Sometimes you fall short, and when you fall short you have to make the necessary corrections and get ready for the next one.
“You don’t want to be looking behind you. You don’t want to be looking down the road. You want to be looking at exactly what’s in front of you, and so that’s served us well so far. Just keep getting better.”
What’s directly in front of the Knicks is a tough game against the Pacers, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year with a Game 7 win at Madison Square Garden in the conference semifinals. The Pacers (29-22) got off to a rough start this season but enter Tuesday’s game 13-4 in their last 17 games.
It seems likely that the Knicks will again be without OG Anunoby, their elite perimeter defender whose absence was felt big-time against Jayson Tatum's Celtics.
Thibodeau said that Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson went through “parts of practice” but still aren’t ready. Anunoby has missed the last three games with what was initially described as a sprained foot but has since been clarified as a toe issue. Robinson hasn’t played since undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason.
No matter who is playing, Brunson says it’s important for the Knicks to get their momentum back before All-Star weekend.
“Just focus on tomorrow and move on from there,” said Brunson, an All-Star starter. “Don’t want to go on break too early.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
