This time there was no heartbreak, just heartburn, lots of it, more than a tub of Tums could offset, more than an acre of Alka-Seltzer could solve. This time the Knicks could take no hollow solace away from another fourth-quarter failure, just the sobering reality that the Pacers, when necessary and until further notice, own them. Even at Madison Square Garden. 

Maybe especially here. 

“We’ve got to fix this,” Josh Hart said. “We have to figure this out.” 

The Pacers go home in absolute command of these best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. They didn’t need a miracle this time. They didn’t need a bizarre bounce. They simply did what they do across 48 minutes: controlled the pace, controlled matchups, then guarded the lead better than the Knicks did two nights earlier.