INDIANAPOLIS — They have told us all year, in word and in deed, that they expect to be at their best when desperation bleeds through the walls. That’s good. It’s good the Knicks feel that way. Because until further notice, there is nothing but desperation ahead for the Knicks. They made sure of that Tuesday night. 

They were steamrolled by one of the all-time playoff performances you’ll ever see out of Tyrese Haliburton, whose father was welcomed back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse and treated to these numbers from his son: 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds and zero turnovers. They were sabotaged by their own hand: 17 turnovers, so many unforced errors. 

You add all of that together, then the 130-121 beating the Pacers laid on them was all but inevitable. From the jump the Pacers forced the tempo, a pace the Knicks would prefer to avoid. They did that in Game 3, when they were able to screech the brakes on Indiana and rescue their season for the time being. That never happened in Game 4. 

And now, the stakes are quite simple.