Jalen Brunson’s injury absence was limited to one game, but Isaiah Hartenstein’s return to the sidelines proved too much to overcome Saturday night for the undermanned Knicks.
Hartenstein was out of the lineup again with the same nagging left Achilles injury that kept him out of two games in January, and the Pacers had their way inside in a 125-11 win at the Garden.
Hartenstein, the Knicks’ fill-in starter at center with Mitchell Robinson still recuperating from December ankle surgery, aggravating his recurring Achilles issue in the second quarter of Thursday’s loss to the Mavericks.
No. 3 center Jericho Sims also missed his third straight game with an illness.
The Knicks used Precious Achiuwa and Taj Gibson at center, but the Pacers held a 40-32 rebounding edge and Indiana big men Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam combined for 42 points on 77.3 percent shooting (17-for-22) from the field.
Isaiah Hartenstein was ruled out for Saturday’s game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“Obviously, we’re down bodies, but we have to find ways to piece together wins,” Josh Hart said. “We’ve got two more [games] before [the] All-Star [break], and then hopefully we’ll get guys back. We just got to figure it out.”
Hartenstein, whom Tom Thibodeau described as “day-to-day,” has filled in more than ably in Robinson’s two-month absence, averaging 8.3 points and 11.2 rebounds in 24 games as a starter.
“It’s going to take all of us sticking together. It’s not going to be one player filling that void,” said Brunson, who scored 39 points after missing one game with a sprained ankle. “We all got to be gang rebounding and locked in on that.”
Julius Randle and Isaiah Hartenstein sit on the bench during the Knicks’ 125-111 loss to the Pacers. Jason Szenes / New York PostThe 38-year-old Gibson officially was signed to his second 10-day contract on Saturday.
“I think it’s important just because of his understanding of what we’re trying to do,” Thibodeau said before the game. “I think that helps your team. He can step right in, he understands the defensive schemes, he understands the screening component. And so give us what you have.”
The Knicks acquired Bojan Bogdanovic from the Pistons just ahead of the trade deadline. USA TODAY SportsNew Knick Bogdanovic expects to see a contingent of Croatian fans at the Garden following his arrival from the Pistons.
“It means a lot. I played with the Nets [from 2014-17], but all my friends are New Yorkers, and they’re all Knicks fans,” Bogdanovic said. “So it’s going to be even better for them, as well, to see me in a Knick jersey. There’s a big Croatian community here in New York, so I’ll have a lot of these guys from my country supporting the Knicks now.”
