INDIANAPOLIS — In the end there are no medals for trying, they all know this. They all understand. The NBA does not issue participation trophies. In the end, as a professional, you are asked a simple set of questions.

Did you get the job done?

Did you fall short?

And when the answers are “no” and “yes,” respectively, there are no consolation prizes. For a 52nd straight year the NBA will crown a champion other than the Knicks, a reality that was hammered home this time by the Pacers, who confiscated whatever fourth-quarter pixie dust the Knicks had smuggled in to so many arenas this spring.