Knicks ready to feed off Madison Square Garden energy in Game 7: ‘This is what you live for’

Friday loss to the Pacers in game 6 it was difficult for Knicks. They were overcome, apparently defeated and Josh Hart he had to leave early with an abdominal injury.

While the loss doesn’t mean the end of the Knicks’ season, they now have to play a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday afternoon. Luckily for the Knicks, it’s at home at Madison Square Garden.

“This is what you live for. This is why you sign with the Knicks,” Donte DiVincenzo said after Friday’s game. “Come home, play in front of the Garden. Game 7. It’s going to be devastating. And that’s what we love.”

So far in this seven-game series with the Pacers, the home team has won every game. The last time the two teams were at The Garden, the Knicks defeated Indiana by 30 points in Game 5. To earn victory on Sunday and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, they will have to clean up. some of your mistakes.

According to the coach Tom Thibodeau, the biggest reason the Knicks lost Game 6 was their lack of “finishing.” They didn’t get the second and third shots of possession that beat them in the last game and their defense was poor.

New York was outscored 47-35 and Indiana outscored the Knicks 62-38.

Simply put, the Pacers outplayed the Knicks game.

It was a similar case between Game 4 at Indiana and Game 5 at MSG. And now that the series returns to New York, the Knicks will have to use their hard-earned home court advantage to close out the series.

“This is the exact reason why we played the last few games to get these two seeds. This is the exact reason,” DiVincenzo said. “We’re going home, Game 7. We know the Garden is going to rock and we’re trying to handle business.”

“The garden is the garden. You get some extra power and the fans are amazing,” Isaiah Hartenstein added. “I just have to step up, make the right plays, play with the right effort and go from there.”

Although the home court is great, the Knicks team knows it doesn’t guarantee victory and will be ready for Sunday.

“We work to [the No. 2 seed] but you still have to make sure you’re working to get a win,” Thibodeau said. “You’re not going to win just because you’re at home. You have to work on it and play well.”

Jalen Brunsonwho struggled in the first half but still scored 31 points on 11 of 26 shots on Friday, his coach repeated.

“It’s something we strive for to have home-field advantage as long as we can,” he said. “I’m very happy that our team has the mentality we have. It’s not a given just because you’re at home. We have to go there and earn it. They will be ready and we must be ready too.

“I hope both teams are desperate.”

Sunday’s Game 7 will be the first at MSG since 1995, when the Knicks lost to the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs. This Knicks team will try to prevent history from repeating itself.