The New York Knicks struggled instantly in their Game 4 matchup against the Indiana Pacers, going into halftime facing a nearly insurmountable 28-point deficit. And naturally, Stephen A. Smith, an unapologetic Knicks fan, wasted no time in going scorched earth on his favorite team for their first-half performance.
Things got off to a brutal start for the Knicks immediately out of the gate, scoring just 14 points in the first quarter which resulted in a 20-point deficit after the first 12 minutes.
There were practically no positives to come from the first half for New York, who struggled offensively and didn’t do much on defense to stop the Pacers from getting anything they wanted.
All of this led to a 69-41 lead for the Pacers going into the half. And when it came time for Smith to discuss the Knicks’ performance in the ABC studio halftime show on the NBA Countdown set, he certainly didn’t mince words.
Malika Andrews initially asked Smith how he would “manage” the second half if he were Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. Stephen A. responded by sharing his disgust with the Knicks by saying that he would “get out of the bathroom after finishing throwing up”.
“The first thing I would do is 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,” said Stephen A. Smith. “It was absolutely positively awful.”
"The first thing I would do is 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."
– A very animated Stephen A. Smith after the Knicks' poor first-half performance.pic.twitter.com/nNe8rmrWvb— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 12, 2024
If Stephen A. thought that the first half was bad, chances are he didn’t love how the second half went for the Knicks either… The Pacers would only add to their lead in the second half, coming away with a dominant 121-89 victory to tie the series at two games a piece.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter/X]
