The New York Knicks plummeted like never before in front of their passionate home fans. They seemingly did everything right to win Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers. They just made a critical error. They loosened themselves just a little bit, and the Tyrese Haliburton-led Pacers made them pay. Within moments, the Knicks’ deafening crowd went cold like their team. However, not everybody was sulking.

Paul Pierce rejoiced watching the Pacers beat down the Knicks. It’s only been days since they eliminated the Celtics. So the moment the needle favored his prediction, The Truth decided to punish the Knicks fans trolling him. And he used some inspiration from Shannon Sharpe.

“Knicks fans hurting, Knick fans Chirping, Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers in 5,” he wrote on X.

Pierce’s reaction, although possibly petty, is only a retort. When the Knicks faced the Shamrocks, the Hall of Famer suffered a lot. He lost a bet for Game 2, forcing him to walk 15 miles to the studio in a robe. Additionally, the Knicks fans didn’t stop at anything to rub the Celtics’ elimination in Paul Pierce’s face.

Since then, the repulsion he felt for the Knicks as a player seems to be re𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧. He went on a scathing rant about the Knicks’ first ECF in 25 years. “We didn’t have our All-NBA player, First Team, MVP candidate, who led us in all of these categories. So, you know, whatever,” he said in a live video following his team’s loss.

USA Today via Reuters

And from that moment, he’s also been rooting for the Pacers. Pierce stated, “Pacers gonna pop y’all, though. Y’all know that, right? Y’all know that the Pacers are gonna get y’all. So, I don’t even wanna hear all that. Yeah, y’all feeling good. Y’all beat an injured Celtics team,” he added.

So right now, Paul Pierce holds one over the Knicks fanbase. And this wasn’t just a simple victory for the Pacers. The Knicks were left humiliated on their home floor, and it affected their composure well before they fell into the Pacers’ trap.

Overconfidence got the better of the Knicks

The New York Knicks ironically had their best run without Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter. They blasted the Pacers with a 14-0 run, tilting the balance of the game. But complacency cost them heavily. Clutch Player of the Year, Brunson, did show out in that period. But Indiana was defiant.

Aaron Nesmith went on a three-point shooting flurry, causing havoc within the Knicks. So even when they were up 5 points with 40 seconds remaining, the players looked flustered. The cameras caught Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby in a heated disagreement.

Brunson had to tame the tensions and prevent their friction from escalating. However, mentally, the damage was done.

Both Towns and Anunoby missed a free throw each in the last 14 seconds. The Knicks wing’s miss proved more costly as Haliburton managed to hit the game-tying shot to force overtime. The Knicks were broken when that happened. And the Pacers had never seen so alive for OT.

“Our intensity dropped. We started playing slower. We were playing more into their hands. We let that one slip. Now, we just have to make sure that tomorrow we go in and watch film on where we need to get better,” Josh Hart said about their loss.

Realistically, the Knicks have to win Game 2 after losing their home game advantage. But bouncing back from this loss will take a lot more than just watching film. Paul Pierce will pray for the Pacers to continue haunting the Knicks. But even if they don’t, they have done their job by stealing a game on the road. Can the Knicks answer back when the series shifts to Indiana is the question.