The Garden got what they asked for – a game that kept them on their feet. The Indiana Pacers marched back from down 17 within the blink of an eye. However, while the Pacers were exquisite late in the game, the Knicks failed to hold their poise. Surely they were stunned by Indiana’s extreme fightback.

But how did they manage to crack a team known to keep their leads intact?

It goes back to a standout trait about Tom Thibodeau’s ways. Mikal Bridges spoke publicly about playing too many minutes. Observing that didn’t change, the Pacers banked on their pace to tire the Knicks’ starters out. According to Charles Barkley, the Pacers’ strategy was a great success.

“That’s fatigue. We said this was going to come down to two things: pace and rebounding. Even though the Knicks were leading, it was still at Indiana’s pace. The Knicks don’t score. I bet that’s their season high. I bet you that’s their season high in points,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA.

That really was it. The Pacers’ depth played a huge role in testing the endurance of the Knicks’ starters, all of whom played nearly 40 minutes tonight. While they led by 17, it didn’t seem to matter. In fact, in this postseason run so far, it hasn’t cost the Knicks as heavily as it did tonight.

Even Tyrese Haliburton revealed the Pacers’ game plan after their victory. “I think maybe you could say that. They missed couple free throws, short misses. In coach speak, the wear-down effect was in full effect.. I think that’s a part of our identity. How can we wear on team for 48 minutes? Obviously picking up full court but as well as out offensive pressure, going downhill, moving and playing fast,” said Haliburton.

What it caused was the Knicks to be battered by the time overtime began. Only Jalen Brunson had some rest due to his being in foul trouble in the fourth quarter. But outside of him, each starter had minimal rest as Thibodeau has often done so.

And it led to a catalogue of errors.

The Pacers punished the Knicks’ strategy

The Knicks’ tactics, relying heavily on their starters, have consistently rewarded them. Before Game 1, they hadn’t lost a single game when leading by 11 or more points during this run. But until now, they hadn’t faced a Pacers team that, as Tyrese Haliburton has said before, can find various scoring avenues. Tonight, they had Aaron Nesmith, who scored 20 in the fourth, hitting six threes in the clutch.

That’s when the Knicks went on the back foot. By the time overtime began, the starters had reached their saturation point. It resulted in a catalogue of errors. From five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter till the end of overtime, the Knicks shot just 1-7 from beyond the arc. Within that span, the Pacers went on a game-turning run. They outscored the Knicks 40-24 in those 10 minutes. Additionally, their pressure led to uncharacteristic errors, too. In overtime alone, the Knicks committed four turnovers.

They also connected on just 2 assists in the last 10 minutes. On the other hand, the Pacers couldn’t miss. They hit seven more triples. The precision of their ball movement led to 8 assists, half of those coming from Haliburton. In a seven-game series, it’s clear that the Knicks need to change something. Until now, they were forcing teams to rely on their starters. But within the Pacers, there is no pecking order. They have a wide range of players who can inflict damage and change the tide of a game.

The worry with that is that the Knicks don’t boast the same depth as the Pacers. And for Tom Thibodeau to experiment this late into the postseason could cause several other problems for the team. In terms of the matchup, the Pacers aren’t a team the Knicks can bully with their starters.

So the real dilemma is, can they endure the Pacers’ fast-paced system over two weeks?