Knicks vs. Pacers: Halftime Thoughts From Game 1

All things considered, it could've gone worse for the New York Knicks.

Despite early struggles from their headliners, the Indiana Pacers jumped out to a 53-49 lead over the New York Knicks in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series at Madison Square Garden. New York did manage to create a major highlight at the end of the second period, as Isaiah Hartenstein unexpectedly sank a three-pointer from beyond midcourt to narrow the gap to two possessions going into the intermission.

If one told a Knicks that Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam would shoot a combined 5-of-12 from the field in the first half, the latter would likely assume that their team had a big lead. But Indiana is employing a larger bench to their benefit, as it put up 27 points (10 for T.J. McConnell) on itsown while the starters struggled. The Knicks did show a little flexibility on their end, offering Precious Achiuwa some minutes after he was exiled for the last two games of the Philadelphia series, but was the only scorer among himself, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson, getting the single point among them.

To make up for their sins, the Knicks have made the most of second chances throughout this season. This time around, however, they've brought in only two offensive rebounds, picking up only three second chance points in the first half. To their credit, the Knicks are staying out of foul trouble with Joel Embiid out of the picture, letting the Pacers get to the line only three times over the first 24.

The Knicks need to help their Cats out: Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart obviously came to play, scoring 29 of the first 49 points. Donte DiVincenzo missed his first four but began to muscle his way into the paint a bit more as the first half hit its twilight. Beyond Brunson and Hart, the Knicks sank only seven from the field in the first half. Even more alarming, the Knicks dished out only three assists beyond the four tossed by the aforementioned Wildcat duty, a recipe for disaster when facing the NBA's assist king in Tyrese Haliburton.