The team ranked last in the positive and negative values ​​in a back-to-back battle! Towns offense and defense collapse was sealed by the coach

Carl Anthony Towns has been on the bench for seven minutes in the fourth quarter when the New York Knicks trailed the Indiana Pacers and needed to score.

Just a few hours before the game started, the Knicks was just selected as the third team of the NBA All-A-Level. Towns averaged 24.4 points per game in the regular season this season, setting a career-high 12.8 rebounds, and shot 1.3 three-pointers with a career-best 42.0% three-point shooting percentage.

Although both things are real, these two clips of Towns on Friday night seem out of place. A star of such a level should not have been hidden for a long time in the last stage of such an important game.

However, when the Knicks were 9 points behind, the five-time All-Star (including this season) was replaced. He did not make a comeback until 2 minutes and 25 seconds before the final game and the team was still 9 minutes behind. Substitute center Mitchell Robinson, who is better at defense, replaced Towns' position during this period.

Although the Knicks closed the score difference in the last 145 seconds after Towns returned, they finally lost 109-114, trailing 0-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

When asked why Towns was on the bench for most of the fourth quarter, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said: "We were in trouble at the time, and the lineup on the court gave us a chance, so we went with the flow. We were looking for answers for victory. "

When frustrated with whether we were unable to play at a critical moment, Towns showed his professional attitude: "Losing is difficult anyway. We need to regroup to meet the next game. "

Downs played in 28 minutes and scored 20 points and 7 rebounds. The data seemed decent, but the team lost 20 points when he was on the court. As one of the fastest teams in the league, the Pacers began to create a misaligned attack between Towns and Halliburton through pick-and-roll in the second quarter. Towns made 6 of 14 shots in the game and was substituted after missing a 12-foot jump shot.

"We do not have enough execution," said Towns, "After all, it is a matter of execution, and my performance is far from enough. "

Before this game, Towns just scored 35 points and 12 rebounds in overtime defeat in G1. But the G2 Pacers use more small lineups, forcing Towns to defend in open space. When asked about Towns' struggle in transition defense, Thibodeau only responded: "Keep working hard. "

Pacers center Miles Turner played the fourth quarter and scored 13 points in a single quarter (16 points in the game), both against Towns and Robinson. Robinson contributed 6 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in this game, including a wonderful performance of blocking Halliburton from behind 7 minutes and 41 seconds before the final game. Robinson landed in this round and suspected that he stepped on Halliburton and suffered an ankle injury. Although he insisted on fighting, he was obviously limited until he was replaced by Towns 2 minutes and 25 seconds before the final game. After the return of Towns, O.G. Anunobi scored two free throws to narrow the gap to 8 points. Jaylen Brunson then scored 5 points in a row (a three-pointer + a 6-foot jump shot), and Josh Hart scored a layup and scored 109 to 110 (14.7 seconds left). But the Pacers made all four free throws, and Brunson scored three-pointers at the top of the arc.

Although technical statistics show that Towns did not directly participate in the final score chasing, at least he experienced all this personally. When the Knicks came to Towns from the Timberwolves trade last year, the team's vision was definitely not to have the All-Star player only present at a critical moment. They look forward to Towns continuing his All-Star level and leading the team to the championship. Although these expectations came true, Friday night's episode was still abrupt.

When asked about the team's demand for Towns, Hart said: "We need him to remain aggressive on the offensive end, concentrate on the defensive end and communicate well. This is all the requirements - he needs to maintain a high level of communication. "

To be fair, Hart also sat on the bench for a long time in the fourth quarter due to his sluggish state. Mikal Bridges (not Towns) is the worst player in the Knicks' plus or negative value in this round of the series (the team lost 22 points on the court). But it was Bridges rather than Towns who chose to trust in the crucial fourth quarter of Friday.

"If you learn anything from last year's experience (with the Timberwolves), it is that winning two games and losing two games may be fleeting," said Downs, "Based on these experiences, we need to improve our execution in G3. "

(text/Kong Yang)