“It was the same thing as in Game 1.. We did a comeback. We had a good shot at the end but it did not come back. »» It would be too fast a summary but the essential is said in these few words from Tom Thibodeau, after the defeat of the Knicks in Game 2.
It is true that this second round looked a lot like the first. The pistons were solid, kept their advance until the last quarter before seeing their opponent accelerate in the last minutes to try to tear off the victory on the wire.
“There will not be a 21-0 every day”, dismissal Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed out on his game, referring to this decisive moment of Game 1. “” We can't wait for that to happen, wait to press the button to suddenly become the team for which we worked all season. We must be more applied and disciplined throughout the meeting. »»
Arbitration in question?
The interior of the Knicks failed in his teammates, registering only 10 points and lacking aggressiveness. If it is also important, it is because the Knicks lost the battle on free throws and heavily for three quarters. Before the last twelve minutes, the pistons had shot 22 free throws, against 6 for New York…
“It is obvious that the gap is enormous. Huge “,, finding Tom Thibodeau, while his troops will finish with 19 attempts and Detroit 34, allowing the pistons to score 12 more points. “I do not understand how, on the one hand, on penetrations, they have mistakes and not us. I don't care about arbitration, if it is coherent on both sides. Cade Cunningham goes to the basket, the contact is marginal, he goes to the free throws. Jalen Brunson also deserves to go on the line, it's as simple as that. »»
Battles with free throws and lost rebounds
As the local all-star obtained whistle in the last quarter, he reduced the gap with his Detroit counterpart (11 for Brunson, 12 for Cunningham) and does not wish to extend on this subject. This does not explain the defeat. “Whether the faults are whistled or not, we have to adapt and I find that we did it a little too late”laments the New York game leader. “Regardless of the arbitration, we must adjust. »»
More importantly, Tom Thibodeau's players lost the battle in the rebound (48-34). And in playoffs, it doesn't forgive. “The rebound was a concern all evening”, regrets the coach. “We did not tear the trailled balloons”, also specifies Karl-Anthony Towns. “They were good to take them, to have long rebounds. They knew that after the first round, they had to be more intense. We had to match this, we didn't do it. »»
A successful comeback in Game 1 then a failure in Game 2: the room fell in the right direction once for the Knicks. That's already it and the hardest part looks like leaving for Detroit. “When you win, everything is easy. After a defeat, we see the real character of a team ”concludes Josh Hart.
