INDIANAPOLIS – It was a classic case of too little, too late. When Rik Smits finally showed up for the Pacers yesterday, it was too late in the game, with too little time left.
Smits, a dismal 1-of-7 through three quarters, finally stepped up and knocked down shots in the fourth quarter. In a span of 2:25, from 4:45 to 2:20, Smits scored eight points and lifted the Pacers into an 87-82 lead. With just over two minutes left, with the Pacers playing on their home court, matters looked good for Indiana.
But at 1:33, Smits was involved in what turned out to be one of the most critical plays of the game – his sixth foul.
With their center on the sidelines, the Pacers were outscored, 9-3 in the last 93 seconds and the Knicks stole the homecourt advantage as Smits was watching while Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson were misfiring prayers to insure New York would secure its 93-90 triumph. For the Pacers, it was their first playoff defeat this season.
Smits finished with 12 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes. The Pacers need more from him, lots more. Otherwise, the first No. 8 seed is making it to the finals. Smits must be more effective.
“He’d better be effective,” offered Indy coach Larry Bird, “because we’re going to need him. Yeah, he hurts. But a lot of guys hurt.”
Bird was referring to the broken big left toe that has been hampering Smits. The center admitted this week that it was cutting down on his mobility. Maybe he was encrusted in the rust that Bird feared beforehand. But it took him too long to get going. And then, it simply didn’t last long enough.
Smits hit a low-post jump hook over Patrick Ewing at 4:45 then, after a Miller trifecta sent the joint into pandemonium, Smits nailed a jumper up top at 3:27. Again, he worked Ewing low at 2:48 and then added a pair of free throws at 2:20. That brought the 87-82 bulge.
It looked good enough to last. Obviously, it didn’t. And the collapse began when Smits fouled Allan Houston on an inbounds.
“It was an out of bounds play we haven’t run in weeks,” Jeff Van Gundy said. “The benefit was getting Allan to the line.”
And fouling out Smits.
But the Pacers know they have to come back and get their center involved earlier.
“We’re going to Rik Smits,” Bird said. “I said it all week long. We’re going to try to get the inside position established. We need to get the ball down low. We’ll get the inside established and try to move it around the perimeter.”