PTI - Knicks Comeback From 20 Down Against Pacers

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discuss the NBA Playoffs, NHL Playoffs, and the French Open. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilburne. Tony, a flood in Australia floated a cow 11 miles from home. I'm Tony Cornheuser.

I read that story at the top of the Daily Moose. I did. Yeah, I see what you did there. Do you believe this? Do you believe this story? It's authentic. Or do you believe it's another one of those? A Florida, man.

No, I mean, I mean, is there any way? reason to believe that cows can't swim, but that cows can't stay up in the, I don't know. Maybe not. I mean, like horses, I think, can swim. Dogs can swim. Maybe a cow can swim. I don't know. Welcome to PTI, boys and girls.

In today's episode, the Timberwolves try to even things up with the thunder. The Panthers and Oilers are rolling, and Ronald Acuna Jr. is a hit in his return to the Braves. But we begin today with the Knicks coming back from 20 points down in the first half to beat the Pacers, In Indiana, 106-100, Carl Anthony Towns at 20 points in the fourth quarter alone. No home team has won a game in this series so far. Wilbon, what does this win mean for the Knicks and does it cause you to question the Pacers?

Good questions, Tony. It means everything for the Knicks. The Knicks go down 3-0, get out of town. They're done in all the celebration in New York that's taking place already before the conference finals even in would appear unbelievably stupid. But the Knicks stood up to that moment. And Carl Anthony Towns is the easy person to identify

because he had 20 points in the fourth quarter. He had a great fourth quarter for any era, any time, any place. He did. But this starts with Tom Thibodeau. Because he looked down the bench, actually looked at the players who then probably had to introduce themselves. Hey, coach, I'm Landry Shamid. I've actually played in some big games.

How about putting me in? And Tibbs did this. And I think it gave the Knicks sort of a, collective sense, Tony, that even when they were sort of struggling at times, when Jalen Brunson was off the floor, right, they were able to stay together and get this ensemble contribution. And Jalen talked about this afterward. And I think that was critical. Does it cause me to reassess the Pacers?

Not yet. Not yet. I want to see what happens in game four and if they can hold a lead if they build it. But I'll start with crediting the Knicks, with starting with Tom, and moving down through Carl Anthony Towns and others. And by the way, people think, oh, Carl Anthony Towns doesn't do this consistently. No, isn't that Wilt? He's not Russell.

He's not Tim Duncan. Players don't do these things consistently in a series. You get a great game or two. If you get a second or a third one, that's a bonus. And maybe you win the series. He's not Michael Jordan. He's not going to have six games like this. People need to pay attention.

Great night for Carl Anthony Towns and the Knicks. Yeah. So I think that this is more about the Knicks than it is about the Pacers. The Knicks have been a very good team all year. The Knicks were slightly better than the Pacers. They had one more win in the regular season. And then the Pacers went into Madison Square Garden and won games one and two, which was tremendously embarrassing for the Knicks.

So by coming back from 20 points down and winning a game, the Knicks are saying we're not dead yet. Right? Right. I found out today it's the third time in the playoffs so far in this season. that the Knicks have come back for 20 or more on the road. So they're not going to be an easy out. But I have this one caveat.

This is exactly what happened in the last series that Indiana played. When they played Cleveland, they went into Cleveland, they won games one and two. They came home for game three. They got blowed out by 22. And then they won game four, and then they won game five and the series. So this could be deja vu all over again. I don't, Mike, I don't know what this game means for the series, but if you surmise and you surmise correctly that the Knicks showed us what they had in game three,

I think it's particularly appropriate to think that the Pacers will show us what they have in game three. Tony, and that's perfectly fair. It is. It turned this into a series, by the way. So you're not one of the New Yorkers, native New Yorkers going around saying Knicks and Six? You're not doing that like half. No, no, no. The fan base?

I'm no. No more cautious. No, no. Because you and I have seen decades and decades of basketball. Nothing's decided yet. Over in the West, the Thunder and Timberwolves are back on the floor tonight for game four in many. The T-Wolves won on Saturday by 42. A huge turnabout from the opening two games in OKC, which the Thunder just dominated.

Tone, do you like Minnesota's chances of tying the series tonight? All right. All right, so bear with me on this rant of sorts. Okay. I think that in many series, the most important game is game four. Now, not in a series like we have in the NHL with Florida and Carolina that's 3-0, and it's certainly not as important as a game seven. But in a series like this, in a 2-1 series like this, you know, I think that it goes

a long way to determining who wins. If you get it to 2-2, then you've held Surrey. then the home court advantage exists again, and then it's like the first four games didn't get played at all. But if it goes to 3-1, that's different. That tilts the playing field. You can get to 3-2 from 3-1 easily, but it's very hard to get from 3-1 to three wins in a row than win the series.

That's a hard thing to do. I like Oklahoma City. I think they were significantly better during the regular season than Minnesota. I am mindful, Mike, that that's a 42-point win. It's an enormous win. But a lot of coaches will tell you, I'd rather get beat by a lot than get beat late by a little. Minnesota is at home. You and I both know the old cliche, which is true.

The series doesn't start until the home team loses. So do I think Minnesota is going to win this one? I don't. But I think you do. I do. I do. We have honest disagreement here. I'm not about to get chesty about it.

I mean, the playoffs have been fairly unpredictable for the NBA, where you usually. usually you're looking to have your beliefs confirmed, not necessarily so in these series we've seen so far. Tony, Oklahoma City is not yet a great team. They're trying to become one. And if they win one with this personnel and they keep most of these guys together, the nucleus, they're going to become a great team.

Whereas a year from now, they will take people out and there will be no times where they appear vulnerable, but they're not there yet. And Minnesota may be as close to that point as OK, Because Minnesota did this last year. They beat the defending champs, Denver. And then they got to the conference finals and lost, obviously, to Dallas. Tony, I think Minnesota at home will win.

I think that when you have Anthony Edwards and Julius Randall playing effectively together at home, they can pile up another big win. I do believe that. So here's my feeling. I understand my exposure here. because I'm tossing away game three. I'm tossing away a 42-point game. I'm tossing away the fact that collectively,

the starters on Oklahoma City, I believe, totaled 49 points in game three and shot something like 15 for 39, like it wasn't good at all. So I understand my exposure. I just have liked Oklahoma City for a long time. We moved to hockey, where Edmonton beat Dallas six to one yesterday

to take a two-to-one lead in their series. Florida's up 3-0 over California. Carolina and can sweep that series tonight at home. Wilbon, does a Stanley Cup final rematch now feel inevitable to you? Yeah, half of it feels more than inevitable. Half of it is like, can we just call this? You know, like in the Little League, where you get a 10-run slaughter rule, or AAU basketball where you get whatever points you.

That's it. Games over now. That appears to be the case with the Panthers. I mean, unbelievable. Tony, they've, and I don't use this world of it, they've humiliated Carolina. They really have. That's right.

They beat them in terms of just on the scoreboard and then smack them around like a ragdown and say we're tired of you people. Get out of here and Carolina goes whimpering

back to the bench and it's really, I would think, if you're a part of that organization, embarrassing, or it ought to be. That is not the case with the Edmonton series,

but Edmonton does feel in control right now. And when they scored those goals, bang, bang, bang, bang, last night. And you have Connor McDavid, where he doesn't even have to score the goal. He doesn't have to be the plays finisher.

He can start it, and he can still have great goals, like that short-sided shot he put in the net last night at 100 miles an hour. Yeah, it feels inevitable to me. Yeah, so I don't know if it feels inevitable to me, but I do know that that is the series I would like to see. These are explosive teams. They score a lot of goals. Over the course of the season, I believe that Florida scores 4.07 goals.

Edmonton 3.97. Florida is crushing Carolina. That score is 16 to 4 in three games. That plus 12 is the widest margin ever in a conference final, and Edmonton in the last two games has outscored Dallas 9 to 1. So, I mean, I don't, this doesn't happen that often. No. You have to go back to 2008 and 2009 when the Red Wings and the Penguins went back to back in the Stanley Cup final series. It's a long time. So I think it's a pretty big deal.

And it's a really big deal because you get in Florida the defending champions and you get in Edmonton a team with the greatest player in the league. So I mean, to me, if I'm the NHL, that's the final I want. Without question, right? I want that one. It's the final you want

and it's the final you're going to get. I don't see either one of the teams over. Look, Dallas has a much better chance of climbing back in it because there's only one game different. Sure. And challenging Edmonton and winning next year. There's no doubt about that. But, Tony, Carolina, wow. Talk about dead in the water.

Carolina, for those of you keeping score, has now lost 15 straight. 15 straight conference final games. Let's take a break. Coming up, Ronald de Cuneo Jr. makes a remarkable return to the Braves. And two days in, just two days. Three big names are already out of the French Open. Might surprise. Small point about Edmonton.

Remember when they gave up power play goals, bang, bang, bang in the first game to Dallas? None since then. Right. None since. They've worked on that. They seem to have solved that. They better have solved it. Can't play like that and win.

It's time to find out what's popping with the populace. Let me see what's first. Put on my glasses. What's the word for Ronald Ocuna Jr.'s return to bed? Baseball weekend. Okay, Tony, to recap for people who might have been paying attention to something else. On Friday versus the Padres, the first pitch as he leads off the bottom of the first, a 467-foot home run.

This comes almost 12 months to the day after he tears up his knee, has to miss the year. And by the way, he also threw out a runner's second. I mean, take a look at this throw. Are you kidding me? This has Roberto Clementi written all over it. Then on Saturday, Okunia hits another home run, and that at bat. And on Sunday, there's a near outfield assist. We're going to see that coming up, where he throws just a bullet and almost throws a guy out.

I mean, Tony, my word is fictional. You don't have this kind of return. It's a script that's written that doesn't seem real. And yet, in that uniform, by the way, the Braves should wear those all the time. The guy is so spectacular. He's a superhero so far in that first weekend. Yeah, so I have three words, and my words are where you've been, because Acuna came back and started to play like his hair was on fire.

Yeah. As you mentioned, first pitch home run, which I got used to seeing from Shohei Atani, but I hadn't seen it in a long time from Akunia because he'd been out for a whole year. First pitch home run, 467 feet, throws a guy out, hits the home run the next day. I think you may have shortchanged the throw. yesterday that almost got Manny Machado. It's the second highest velocity of any throw on an assist situation all year. And it is a great, great throw.

So here's the thing. I pay attention to this division because the Nats are in this division. When the Braves don't have Ocuna, they're an okay team. They're a 500 team. They're not a great team. If you give him a full year, they are a perennial playoff team. He is a difference maker. Otani is a difference maker.

Judge is a difference maker. You know, Mukhi Betz, like he's on the short list of actual difference makers. He is. By the way, Cubs and Nats, I think, next week. I'm going to your ballpark and I'm wearing Ernie Banks jersey, and I dare anybody to say anything to me. No one's going to say anything to you because they expect you to do that. Good.

That or a Northwestern Jersey. Here's the next question. Biggest first round exit. at the French Open. Taylor Fritz, Emma Navarro, or Naomi Osaka? Okay, to recap again, Taylor Fritz. The number four seed goes out to an unseeded player. Number four seed, boom, right out of there.

Then also, you've got Eminavaro, who is the number nine seed, doesn't just go out. It goes out in 57 minutes, love and one, two, an unseeded player. And then Naomi Osaka, of course, a four-time slam. winner, she loses, but she loses to the number 10 seed, Bedosa. That's hardly an embarrassing loss, even though she seemed crushed by losing in the first round later, because she's used to playing deeper in the tournament than the other two than Fritz or Navarro. And it's a tough comeback, Tony. But I mean, you just say this real quickly.

This reminds me of when Monica Sellas came back. It took a while, took a long time. And Monica never really got all the way back, but she got the finals, I think, a couple of times. Osaka's going to have to be patient with herself in this comeback. I love seeing her. You know, she's my favorite player out there, but I know this was difficult for her to internalize. I know she's your favorite player out there. You don't get a lot of chance to see her because she's out all the time. She's out early.

She has not been passed the third round in a major since she won her last major, the Australian Open of 2021. So her going out is not a big deal. Emma Navarro, as you say, loving one in 57 minutes. I think maybe she got an hour of free parking and saw she only had three minutes left to go get the car, so she got out of there. The answer here is Taylor Fritz,

and I keep wanting to say Taylor Swift, but it's Taylor Fritz, because he's the four, which means they projected him into the semifinals. He went out to the number 66 player in the world, Daniel Altmeyer. When a four goes out on the first, day, it's different than a nine and it's different than somebody who used to be good.

That guy beat center. I understand. But not this year. Who's the biggest star of the three people? Taylor Fritz, who's never won squad douche. Oh, no. As he used to say, Emma Navarro or Naomi Osaka. Thank you.

Osaka is the biggest star. You know who's a bigger star than she is? Venus Williams, and she's not playing anymore. You just can't go by starry. It's not how it works. It's not how it works. It is how it works. one last break. Still to come. Tyrese Halliburton's father learns whether he'll be able to watch

games in person again. If you look, I'm not the commissioner. Team USA in hockey does something that hasn't accomplished in 92 years. There was Team USA. There was national hockey 92 years ago, really? Pardon the interruption is brought to you by Popeyes. Love That Chicken from Popeyes. Oh, send us some chicken. I like that. Happy time, people. Happy time. 26th birthday, Micah Parsons. The Cowboys' great linebacker was the 12th pick in the 2021 draft out of Penn State where he won the Butkus Award. Parsons was defensive rookie of the year when he had 13 sacks and was first team all pro. Parsons has made four pro bowls, has twice been first team all pro. The Cowboys tend to invent stars, but Parsons is legit.

As our C.D. Lamb and Dak Prescott and maybe George Pickens. Is this finally the year that Cowboys live up to their own hype. By the way, Parsons has not yet signed an extension with the Cowboys, which could make this the year, when First Take asks, will Micah get his money every day? Every single day. Tony, I'm not putting him in the same paragraph as 56 Taylor, Lawrence Taylor, until they win something, playoff game, something. You've got to at least advance. So I realize he's a great individual player. But the Cowboys got to deal with the Eagles and the commanders in their own division.

So I don't know if this is their year or not. Happy anniversary, Robert Auri. On this day, 23 years ago, Ory gathered a ball, tipped by Vladi Divots of Sacramento, and drilled a three at the buzzer to give the Lakers the win and tie the Western Conference finals at 2-2. This was one of many playoff buzzer beaters that earned Ory the nickname Big Shot Bob. Ory made them for the Lakers, the Rockets, and the Spurs, all teams he won championships with. has seven rings. That's more than anyone who wasn't on the Celtics in the 50s and 60s.

Fun fact, from 1994 to 2003, either Ori or Steve Kerr won the championship every year, and neither player ever played on the same team. Well, on Rudy Tomjanovich thinks Ori should be in the Hall of Fame, do you? Tony, I realized that Robert Ory was never an All-Star, but there are exceptions to be made. I am totally biased in favor of Robert Ory, who's just one of my favorite people ever in covering sports, Ory. So I, yes, I lean that way. He embraced a role, a difficult role, and he fulfilled it time after time after time, no matter how much pressure. So I'm a total Robert Orie guy. Happy trails to the ban on John Halliburton. Tyrese's dad had missed eight Pacers games since he got

into it with Yonis Anta Ticompo following the elimination of the bucks. But tomorrow night, the Pacers will allow the elder Halliburton to watch Game 4 against the Knicks from a sweet In his apology following the incident, John Halliburton posted, quote, this was not a good reflection on our sport or my son, and I will not make that mistake again, unquote. John Halliburton owes Charles Barkley a dinner at St. Elmo's, all right? Because Charles went on many times that said free John Halliburton. And it was funny, but it was also Charles knew exactly what he was saying.

Clemency is fine, some lenience in a suite is fine. doing that, but he owes Chuck a knight of St. Elmo's and if Charles wants to include me, I'm happy to go to. Like John Howard. One era, Michael Parsons for your, this is for you, Wilbon. Michael Parsons won one playoff game with the Cowboys,

the whole mission. Indiana, fever guard Caitlin Clark will miss at least two weeks with the left quad strain. There go to the TV ratings. Running out of show, we go to the big finish. Team USA won the World Ice Hockey Championship for the first time since 1933. Your thoughts? I mean, is Connor McDavid

playing of the big stars. Cachuk. Alex Palau. I think Palau is right. Palo. Palo. Palo. Palo. Palo. Won the Indy 500.

Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix. Ross Chastain won the Coca-Cola 600. I know you watch some of this stuff, which was the biggest deal. Yeah. I'm partial to the Indy 500. Tarik Scoobel to a 13-strikeout complete game in 94 pitches yesterday. You're impressed? Kind of, in the context of now, is his first one.

in his career. Shohei faced three hitters in batting practice yesterday. Is that significant? Most thrilling thing I saw all weekend was watching those kids. Last one, North Carolina top Northwestern for the women's lacrosse title. How you feeling, Phuky? I'm proud of Northwestern's team for getting to the final again. Congratulations titles.

Cornell beat Maryland this afternoon in the men's final. Get these things into appropriately smaller stadiums instead of cavern. Time, time, Tony. I'm Mike Wilbon. Same time tomorrow, Uncle Heads.