The New York Knicks tend to come out firing on all cylinders in fourth quarters, which makes for exciting comebacks and showcases resilience. However, the reason it gets to that point in the first place is because they continue to have lackluster third quarters.
The Knicks have struggled in the third quarter this postseason
In Game 4 on Sunday, New York was outscored 28-14 in the third quarter, though luckily they were able to come back and defeat Detroit on the road. It was a similar story in Game 5 on Tuesday, as the Pistons held a 28-24 advantage in the third, only this time New York couldn’t overcome that.
The Knicks want to change their third quarter habits coming into Game 6 in Detroit on Thursday. New York could have clinched their first playoff series win at home since 1999, but now they will have to try to do so on the road.
“We’ve got to figure out how to come out of halftime better,” Josh Hart said, via SNY. “We go into halftime with a lead and then we go into the fourth quarter down, so we’ve got to figure that out. We’ve got to come out of halftime more aggressive and punch first.”
The Knicks need to have better energy in the third quarter
In the postseason, the Knicks have the lowest third quarter net rating of any team in the playoffs at -28.0. In comparison, they have the seventh-best fourth quarter net rating at 15.3, so they are struggling to get themselves going fresh out of the halftime break.
New York has shown to be resilient in close games late, but they can easily avoid that if they come out with better energy in the third quarter. They will look to fix those problems in Game 6 on Thursday as they will try to close the series out on the road.