The Knicks’ Game 1 loss on Wednesday was so devastating that it made Stephen A. Smith sick.
During ESPN’s pregame show before Thursday’s Western Conference finals clash between the Thunder and Timberwolves, Smith remarked that the Knicks’ defeat left him feeling so “nauseous” that he had to resort to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol amid his commentary.
“Honestly, I felt sick,” Smith mentioned during the broadcast. “Their performance was appalling, and we’re about to give Pepto-Bismol some free publicity because every Knicks supporter needed it. If I could chug this like it’s Sprite, I would do it right now.”
Although leading by 14 points with under three minutes remaining, the Knicks allowed their advantage to slip away, with Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton scoring a buzzer-beating shot that tied the game, pushing it into overtime.
The Knicks ultimately lost in the extra frame after scoring just six points in the game’s final three minutes, a performance that Smith called a “choke job.”
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“Complete collapse, it was a choke job,” Smith added to his rant. “That’s right, that’s what I’m calling it. We are going to see what they will do to respond. Because let me tell you something right now, they look like a team that don’t practice. That’s how they look.”
The magnitude of the Knicks’ collapse has rarely been seen throughout NBA history, as they were the first team since 1998 to blow a nine-point lead in the final minute of a playoff game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Knicks players have taken responsibility for the loss and appear ready to come back for Game 2 on Friday.
“We didn’t close the game out,” Josh Hart said. “I feel like our intensity dropped. We started playing slower, playing more into their hands.
“We let that one slip. … I feel like defensively, we let off the gas. Intensity and physicality weren’t there, offensively we were playing slower, a little stagnant, and looked like we were playing not to lose. We gotta make sure we don’t make that mistake again.”
