With the decisive Game 7, the New York Knicks have pulled out all the weapons from their arsenal to get to the playoff finals. The team guard, OG Anunoby, who was questionable from the start due to his hamstring injury in Game 2, is determined to shoot on Sunday Night against the Indiana Pacers, as per ESPN insiders. Moreover, the key pillar of the Knicks, who is holding the offense together with DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, forward Josh Hart, will also play in Game 7, confirmed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
With Hart’s underwhelming 5-point performance in Game 6 due to abdominal soreness, the Knicks suffered a loss. Though the forward left in the fourth quarter, it did affect the offense of their team, especially when the Pacers were blasting. Hopefully, the 29-year-old will surpass his suffering to give up a final flamboyant performance against the opponent team.
ESPN Sources: New York’s OG Anunoby (hamstring strain) and Josh Hart (abdominal strain) are on course to play Game 7 vs. Indiana — with a final determination looming closer to 3:30 PM ET tip on ABC. Both will participate in walk-thru at MSG. https://t.co/uAeR2hpvZj
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 19, 2024
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For the ultimate faceoff against the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks will need their key players. OG Anunoby has been an impact forward for the Knicks but has not played for the last four games and might prove to be the missing strength piece for the Knicks. Joined by forward Josh Hart, the offensive streak will be difficult to tackle for the Pacers. In the last game itself, the Indiana Pacers tried to deliver by matching the Knicks’ offensive pace when the latter team was limp with injuries.
How Josh Hart and Co. are going to tackle the Pacers matchup at Game 7?
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With their next game at the Garden, the Knicks might perform better due to the home-court advantage. However, the charm is not the only thing that the Knicks will need to move forward. In the last game, the Pacers almost shut down Jalen Brunson in the first half with Aaron Nesmith. He followed Brunson all over the court and limited his movements. Apparently it resulted in 2-of-13 shooting in the first half of the game from Brunson. Even when Jalen tried to go past their defense, an extra defender was appointed on the Knicks player.
But it seems like the Knicks guard has the cheat code for the Pacers’ strategy. The 26-point streak in the second half of the game from him was proof of that. Another factor that troubled the Knicks was that the Pacers caught a lot of loose-balls because Josh Hart was not in his best form. With him returning in the Game 7, things will turn out to be different as the possibilities for retaliation will be less for the Indiana players.
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Even Donte DiVincenzo agreed after Game 6 that they will “regroup” together to get back at the opponent. He emphasized on sewing through the Pacers’ defense to get the ball to the hoop. If the key players from the Knicks make their return, the passing of the ball from might bother their opponent a lot in the upcoming crucial game.