Cleaning up turnover woes a Knicks necessity with season hanging in the balance

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s no secret at this point that the Pacers love to play fast and thrive in transition. 

But the Knicks have also made it easier for them to do so. 

“Obviously their points off turnovers have been a factor for them,” Jalen Brunson said at shootaround Sunday morning ahead of Game 3. “They’re running on makes and misses regardless, so we just obviously have to get back in transition, and obviously they’re playing great and we gotta counteract that.” 

In the Knicks’ 114-109 Game 2 loss Friday night at Madison Square Garden, they committed 13 turnovers.

The Pacers scored 17 points off those turnovers.

The Pacers made the Knicks pay for their errors in Game 2. Getty Images

The Knicks conversely scored 12 points off of 10 Pacers turnovers. 

And the Pacers scored 14 fastbreak points to the Knicks’ seven. In a game that was decided by just five points, those are the small margins that often make the difference.  

Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs

• Vaccaro: Knicks need to focus on just one aspect in this ugly situation
• Bondy: Weighing the pros and cons of lineup changes for desperate Knicks
• Target this player prop for Knicks-Pacers Game 3
• Knicks can earn ‘special’ label by overcoming 2-0 deficit — or else they’ll be latest what-if

Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.

Pascal Siakam, in particular, thrived in transition, whether on turnovers or long rebounds. He constantly leaked out on defensive possessions and repeatedly beat the Knicks down the floor. And his teammates did a good job of feeding him to take advantage.

Siakam finished with a season-high 39 points on 15-for-23 shooting from the field. 

Pascal Siakiam led the way for Indiana in Game 2. AP

On eight of those 15 made shots, Siakam took one or no dribbles. 

“That’s huge,” Josh Hart said Sunday. “I don’t know the numbers but I don’t think we’ve done a good job of taking care of the ball the first couple of games. And with a team like this, it’s tough because you know they’re going to take the ball out fast and push, try to get easy buckets. You can’t gift them free points. And I feel we did that at times in that first couple of games. We can’t do that. The margin of error is slim.”