With their starting five struggling, the Knicks are considering moving backup center Mitchell Robinson into the lineup for Josh Hart, sources told ESPN.
The Knicks had costly defensive breakdowns for the second straight game and acknowledged they have to "figure it out" as the series heads to Indiana for Game 3.
The Knicks led the Pacers by 14 points with under three minutes to play Wednesday night, but through an array of defensive mistakes and costly turnovers, they lost in overtime to open the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years and ended the one-year NBA title reign of the Celtics with astonishing ease, rolling to a 119-81 victory in Game 6.
As the Knicks took a commanding 3-1 series lead on the Celtics and moved to within a win of their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years, captain Jalen Brunson was quick to remind his teammates, "It's nothing to celebrate."
Mikal Bridges scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter before making his second straight game-clinching steal, and the Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit again to beat the Celtics 91-90 on Wednesday for a 2-0 lead in the second-round series.
As precious seconds ticked away in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, New York star Jalen Brunson was waiting at the scorer's table for a whistle in the Knicks' 106-103 loss to the Detroit Pistons, who stayed alive in this Round 1 series, forcing a Game 6.
Crew chief David Guthrie said referees missed Knicks guard Josh Hart's foul of Detroit's Tim Hardaway Jr. on the final shot of the Pistons' loss to the Knicks in Game 4 on Sunday.