I'm far from convinced the Knicks are superior to the Pacers. I thought that way before this series and my belief has only been strengthened by what happened in Game 1.

The Knicks were lucky to escape with a 121-117 victory after trailing by nine points with 10:28 left. The Knicks won by only four points despite shooting 54 percent from the floor, receiving seven more free throw attempts and getting several controversial calls in their favor down the stretch.

What's ominous for the Knicks is Indiana's reserve players outscored New York's bench by 43 points. The Knicks aren't likely to shoot that well again either. They were a below average scoring team, ranking 19th in points per game and 20th in field goal percentage at 46.5 percent during the regular season.

Tyrese Haliburton is due to play better for Indiana and the officiating should be more even after the Game 1 scrutiny.