And it's the biggest reason the Knicks face a 3-1 deficit — and elimination — against the Pacers: New York can’t defend when Brunson and Towns share the floor. In the 91 minutes Brunson and Towns have been on the court during the conference finals,

Editor's Note: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated a Knicks fan paid a witch to curse the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The fan in fact paid a witch to cast a spell on the Knicks to win Game 5. We regret the error.

After collapsing under the weight of 130 points in a crushing Game 4 loss, Tom Thibodeau’s squad regrouped and unleashed an inspired performance at that end of the court to fend off

Game four exposed an unfortunate reality for Jalen Brunson & Co., and now they’re on the brink of elimination.