Tyrese Haliburton was right. The Knicks choked. They choked epically Wednesday night and somehow lost a game that was so deep in their back pocket it should’ve been collecting lint.
There is never a world where a competent NBA team, let alone a team in the Eastern Conference finals, blows a 14-point lead with less than three minutes left.
Logically and mathematically, it shouldn’t happen. Just hold the ball longer. Manage the clock. Take away 3-pointers first. Hit a couple free throws. But there was Tom Thibodeau’s normally heady and resilient group Wednesday, just falling under the weight of their mistakes, and the Indiana duo of Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith.
In Boston, they say Aaron “friggin’ ” Boone. In New York, if the Knicks lose this series after falling down 1-0, it’s Aaron “friggin’ ” Nesmith.