Knicks Playoff GAME NIGHT: 8:00 PM – 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Game 6 – NYK (2-3) at IND (3-2); TNT, TruTV, MAX

The French Open in Paris is halfway done, and at Roland-Garros, they say victory belongs to the most tenacious. Tonight, in Indianapolis, the Knicks will have to be the most tenacious team if they want to force a Game 7 against the Pacers.

Indiana wants nothing to do with a Game 7. The Pacers are going to do everything they can to advance to the NBA Finals in front of their fans. “We obviously didn’t play with the level of force that we needed to,” said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle on his team’s performance in Game 5. “To start the game, we just didn’t have the right level of force, the right level of attitude necessary in this environment.” All of that is going to change for the Pacers tonight.

The Pacers will play their best version of basketball in tonight’s Game 6. They are going to capitalize on every Knicks mistake and ensure the Knicks don’t come within striking distance of evening up this series and sending it back to the Mecca for a Game 7.

Aaron Nesmith, who was Indiana’s hero in Game 1, sprained his ankle in Game 3. He played well in Game 4 but struggled in Game 5. “Gotta be better,” Nesmith said. “I was able to play Game 4. I could play [in Game 5]. There was no excuse.”

Tyrese Haliburton, who had a historic triple-double in Game 4 but was held to eight points in Game 5, said, “I got to be better and I’ll be better in Game 6.”

Pascal Siakam, who scored 39 points in Game 2, said, “We played hard, but they played harder.”

But here’s the thing: The pressure is not on the Knicks; it’s on Indiana. It’s the Pacers’ starting lineup that went 13-for-39 from the field in Game 5. It’s the Pacers’ star players who were nowhere to be found in Game 5. And it’s the Pacers who could choke away a former 3-1 lead tonight. So, what must the Knicks do to force a Game 7?

First, they must build off their strong defensive performance in Game 5, and the best way to do that is to reduce their turnovers. Although they won Game 5 comfortably, they continued to struggle with turnovers, recording 14 in the final three quarters, which led to 20 Pacers points. One way to reduce turnovers is if Karl-Anthony Towns draws fewer unnecessary fouls. This has been an issue with his game throughout his NBA career, and at this point in the playoffs, given Towns’s role on the Knicks, the issue has become magnified. So much so that following his five fouls in Game 5, during Inside the NBA on TNT, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal asked Towns why he draws so many stupid fouls, to which he replied, “G-d only knows.”

Next, the Knicks must keep Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson on the court together as often as possible. If the Knicks want to win tonight, Brunson needs to have an incredible performance like he did in Game 5. The Knicks’ bench, which essentially didn’t exist before this series, has saved them defensively, but whenever possible, the Knicks need their All-Stars on the court.

Let’s not forget that Jalen Brunson didn’t get to have a big moment against Indiana last postseason. The Knicks blew a 3-2 lead to the Pacers, and Brunson went down in Game 7 with a broken hand. He is eager to change that narrative tonight, for winning Game 5 alone isn’t enough to overcome a 3-1 deficit. As Karl-Anthony Towns said, “It’s a testament to our team answering the call [on Thursday] […] But we are going to have to be even better next game if we want our season to continue.”

Finally, offense is critical for the Knicks to beat the Pacers tonight, but defense is arguably more important because if the Knicks can’t get stops, they’ll struggle to outscore Indiana’s deep lineup. Defense might sound like a typical strategy, especially in the playoffs, but I want to relay the critical reminder that defense wins championships. From a complete team perspective, defense helped the Knicks win Game 5. Indiana might have taken their foot off the gas in the second half, but first-half defense helped the Knicks set the tone offensively.

“I think in this series, we haven’t lacked scoring,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who has averaged 21.4 points per game this postseason. “It’s about us not stopping them from scoring. I thought we did a great job [in Game 5] of upping the pressure and making it more difficult for them to get those open looks and get those shots that they got comfortable with last game.” The Knicks will have to step up their defense tonight to account for the offensive adjustments the Pacers will make and the pressure they will bring.

So, can the Knicks make history tonight? Only if they’re the most tenacious.

Catch tonight’s game at 8 PM on TNT, TruTV, and streaming on MAX.