Stephen A. Smith is never one to put the way he feels delicately.
After the Knicks were dominated in the first half against the Pacers in Game 4 and went into the locker room down 69-41, it was clear that Smith was feeling a certain way about his team.
Malika Andrews asked Smith during the ABC halftime show what he would do if he was Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and he went into his theatrical answer.
“Well, the first thing I’d do is I’d get out of the bathroom because I just finished throwing up after watching my team play the way that they played in the first half. It was absolutely, positively awful,” Smith said.
Smith surely wasn’t alone in his disdain for the Knicks’ performance in the first 24 minutes of the game as the Pacers outplayed the Knicks in just about every way.
The game got off to a bad start as the Knicks shot just 6-for-23 in the first quarter and watched as Indiana’s bench outscored their own, 17-0.
Smith seemed to show concern for the Knicks before the game when discussing the players that stepped up with so many injuries, which includes Jalen Brunson battling through a foot injury.
“You have to wonder when that level of attrition is going to kick in and affect their motor to some degree,” Smith said. “I thought we saw a little bit of that in the fourth quarter of Game 3. That’s what I’m concerned about now.”
The Knicks took the first two games of the series against the Pacers after defeating the 76ers in six games.
The Pacers finally captured their first win of the series on Friday night when the series shifted to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and were on their way to evening the series with a win in Game 4.