INDIANAPOLIS — When it came to the offensive woes last night, J.R. Smith didn’t want to hear about past issues with ball movement.
“We moved the ball. We’re still missing shots,” Smith said. “I don’t think that’s the problem.”
Yes, there were a slew of clanging shots last night in the Knicks’ dreadful 93-82 Game 4 loss to the Pacers, a defeat that puts them on the brink of elimination. The offense was again brutal, as the Knicks shot a miserable 36 percent from the field and went just 8-for-28 from 3-point range.
For the series, the Knicks are shooting only 41 percent from the field and 32 percent on 3s. And in the last two games in particular — the two losses that have changed the series and possibly the season — the Knicks’ shooting has been abominable.
In Game 3, they shot 35 percent overall and went 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. In the last two defeats, the Knicks have shot 35 percent (56-for-158) from the floor and 28 percent (11-for-39) from deep.
“We’re a great offensive team,” Raymond Felton said. “The ball is just not going in the basket this series.”
After only attempting 11 3s in Game 3, the Knicks upped their attempts to 17 last night — something coach Mike Woodson wanted to see. But they only hit three of their first 18 attempts through three quarters before sinking 5-of-10 in an essentially meaningless fourth period.
“We just missed shots again. We had some good looks, finally got some 3s up. We had good looks and just couldn’t knock them down,” Woodson said. “I thought our offensive flow wasn’t bad but we couldn’t make shots.”
“They’re playing good defense,” said Jason Kidd, who has now missed his last 16 shots after an 0-for-2 outing last night and is scoreless since Game 2 against the Celtics. “But we’re getting great looks and they’re just not going down.”
Amar’e Stoudemire mentioned the value in playing faster offensively, saying the Knicks need to “just push the ball. Everyone has to fill lanes. Space the court a lot quicker.”
Asked why that hasn’t been happening, Stoudemire replied, “It’s a great question.”