New Knicks Alec Burks, Bojan Bogdanovic contribute, but Pacers pull away in second half
Knicks guard Josh Hart reacts in the second half of an NBA game against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
With little more than four minutes left in the first quarter Saturday night, Bojan Bogdanovic entered the game and the Madison Square Garden crowd gave him a loud welcome. Then he quickly got a hint of what his new situation will be like, never leaving the court until halftime.
Bogdanovic and Alec Burks took their seats at a news conference nearly three hours before game time Saturday, spending not much less time than they’d had with Tom Thibodeau a day earlier as they rushed to acclimate themselves to a new team in the middle of a playoff race. With the Knicks shorthanded because of a long list of injuries, they needed the reinforcements. But they need something more right now as they dropped their second straight game for the first time since December, falling to the Pacers, 125-111.
The Knicks (33-20) not only had the two trade pieces in the lineup but got Jalen Brunson back after he missed a game with a sprained ankle. And while Brunson performed his usual heroics with 39 points, what the Knicks really needed was one of their centers back on the court.
With Mitchell Robinson rehabbing after ankle surgery, Isaiah Hartenstein sidelined with a sore left Achilles and third-string center Jericho Sims still nursing an illness, the Knicks were down to Taj Gibson and Precious Achiuwa as the only (undersized) centers available. Add in the absence of Julius Randle (dislocated shoulder) and OG Anunoby (elbow surgery), and despite Thibodeau’s constant cries that “we have more than enough to win,” on this night, they didn’t.
“As a team, I think we have to do a lot better,” Thibodeau said. “We’re shorthanded. We’re going to have to play a lot harder and a lot tougher. We’re going to have to count on our defense and our rebounding, and one of the few times we’ve been outrebounded all year, so we’re going to have to fix that and fix it fast.”
The Knicks hung in for a half, trailing 61-58, but when Tyrese Haliburton ended the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer and the Pacers started the fourth with two more threes, the lead ballooned to 15. Indiana extended its lead to as many as 22, and nothing the newcomers could do was going to change the Knicks’ fortunes on this first night. They were beaten up on the glass and the Pacers shot 61% from the floor.
Burks hit three straight three-pointers in a 15-point fourth quarter to finish with 22. Bogdanovic had 11, all in the first half.
While a healthy Knicks squad may raise championship dreams, this right now is not a healthy squad or one that can get by with a less-than-perfect effort.
“Obviously, everyone sees that,” Brunson said. “But we gotta focus on right now. How can we be good right now? We can’t keep looking ahead and say we’re gonna be good. We gotta be good now. We’re not, I’m not, worried about what the future holds. I’m worried about one game at a time and the next game.”
It was a far cry from where the new players were Thursday before the Knicks swung the trade — on the West Coast with the Pistons (8-44). But now they not only are in New York but jumping far up the standings. Burks and Bogdanovic are ready to join the playoff push.
“I think I’m kind of used to it,” said Bogdanovic, who missed the postseason only twice in the first nine seasons of his 10-year career. “So it’s kind of I’m used to big expectations and playing for playoff teams and contenders. It’s early. We need time to adjust, but All-Star is coming as well, so it’s going to be easier for us to learn set plays and learn what Coach wants us to do.”
Burks has no worries about finding his way after spending two seasons with the Knicks and helping them to the first playoff appearance in Thibodeau’s initial season with the team. He was a Thibodeau favorite and couldn’t avoid wondering before the trade deadline if he was on his way back to join him again.
“It’s hard not to hear it, but I didn’t pay it no mind,” said Burks, who was traded by the Knicks to the Pistons in a draft-day salary-clearing move in 2022. “Trade rumors happen all the time in this league. But I always knew I had a fan in Thibs and the organization, lot of people in the city, I know I got a lot of love here. You never know and then it happens.
“A lot of emotions, it’s just crazy. It’s how the world goes, right? But I’m glad to be back. I get a lot of love out here. So I’m glad to be back with everybody. I had a lot of fun, what was it a year and a half ago? My two-year stint was a lot of fun here, we won a lot of games, connected with a lot of fans, the playoff series. Just a lot of different times I had as a Knick, at that point. Just remembering all those times, I’m just glad to be back.”
Burks was greeted with loud welcomes from the players who were here before he was traded away, and he was happy to see the success the team has had since the rebuild he helped start. “Just the difference Jalen has made,” he said. “I mean, he’s an unbelievable player. I feel like bringing him helped the rebuild even better. With Thibs and Julius playing at his level, it’s great to see that I was a part of the start of it.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
