In what has been a physical and sometimes controversial series, Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo made a point of letting everyone know why they eliminated the Pacers in game 5 at Madison Square Garden.
“They were talking, trying to be physical, basically trying to be our brand, our identity, and they were successful in the last game,” DiVincenzo said of what was different from Game 4 to Game 5. “We regrouped, watched film, and we simply understand that we are not who we are. We come out tonight and that’s exactly who we are.
After a 30-point Game 4 loss in Indiana, the Knicks retook the series lead with their physical and dominant performance.
The Knicks had 28 more points on the boards in Game 5, including 20 offensive rebounds to Indiana’s five. This recovery disparity caused the Knicks to take 29 more shots than the Pacers.
The Knicks’ signature physicality and tenacious defense have led to plenty of potential conflict in this series, but on Tuesday it came to a head twice.
The first happened in the second quarter, on an illegal screen at Indiana’s Isaiah Jackson which caused DiVincenzo to fall hard to the ground. Isaiah Hartenstein made an exception and faced Jackson.
The second involved DiVincenzo more directly. The Knicks guard tried to pass one Miles Turner screen, but was called for a foul. Turner criticized what appeared to be a possible elbow from DiVincenzo. The two began to fight, but were kept apart.
Both incidents resulted in five total technical fouls, three against the Knicks.
“That’s just a side effect of coming out with energy, stamina and tenacity,” Josh Hart he said. “Obviously we would like to not have some of the technologies we have, but that depends on the competitiveness and resilience we are trying to bring.”
DiVincenzo was more direct in his observations.
“They’re trying to be tough guys. And that’s not their identity,” DiVincenzo said. “No one is going to fight in the NBA. Own the foul and keep it moving. You’re not a tough guy, just keep walking.”
Much has been made about the fouls, and lack of fouls, in this series, but now the physicality has increased even more with the fights. Now that the series returns to Indiana, DiVincenzo says the Knicks need to maintain that physicality and toughness to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
“This is who WE are. We’ve been this way all season…it’s our identity, it’s what we do in practice every day,” DiVincenzo explained. “They were successful in the last game and we understand that we have to get back to who we are, and that’s exactly what we did tonight.”
Game 6 will take place Friday in Indiana.
