While at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana the public raves about the home team’s fabulous first quarter, at the Argot Café in Buenos Aires no one but me seems to know of the existence of the transcendental fourth game between the Pacers y New York Knicks.
Tyrese Haliburton flies to the hoop: the Pacers achieved a comfortable victory against the Knicks in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the NBA playoffs. Getty Images
The deafening noise of the fans in the capital of American basketball is contrasted with the smooth flow of conversations and the pleasant playlist that the bar workers chose, Autumn in New York by Bobby Timmons as the star song of the afternoon.
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Tyrese Haliburton She slides on the court with the same ease with which Guillermina brings me the second coffee with milk that I ask for. The hand of the Pacers star is at the ideal temperature, as is the cup that rests on my table.
The first quarter ends and Tom Thibodeau can’t find a way around the matter. The Knicks lose by 20 points, the worst deficit after the first period in their playoff history. For the Pacers it is the biggest difference in their favor in the same situation. Another who cannot find a solution is Octavio, who asked for a table for two inside, but the room is full and they offer him one outside. The weather doesn’t help: cold and rain. The relationship with the young woman who accompanies him does not seem to be going much better. He doesn’t know that even the brightest have dull afternoons: Jalen Brunson He misses all five field goals he attempts, two of them open and three with a defender on him, and four of the five shots in which he is the defender of the Pacers player hit him.
Thibodeau looks for solutions. He makes more changes than we are used to in these playoffs. I also change, but at the table. There are three of them, I’m alone and the table is for four. Mariela with her daughter Tisiana and her niece Zoe take over what was my place, near the window, and I come against the bar. Win-win: they get to sit down and have a snack and I no longer get the cold as much from the door that opens constantly due to the number of people who choose this place.
Coffee has an ideal flavor like the game the Pacers are playing defensively: they only allowed 41 points in the first half, the lowest amount in the entire season. The 28-point lead at halftime represents the largest lead in Indiana’s playoff history. And they cause the Knicks a difference against that they have not suffered since 1991 in a postseason.
The steal, followed by a counterattack and a dunk Pascal I’m sorry to get 32 points ahead provokes Thibodeau’s annoyance. Call for time out. Octavio also gets tired of what he sees. The bar is still full inside and he and his girlfriend? They say enough. They get up, go in to pay and leave. The other customers are unaware of Octavio’s annoyance or of the dance that the Pacers give to the Knicks.
Donte DiVincenzo cannot resolve in attack. Josh Hart rest. Yes, as you read: Hart is sitting on the bench and looks surprised. Brunson gets converted easily on the other side of the court. And on offense he doesn’t fare much better than Jalen, especially when he defends him. Aaron Nesmith. Obviously, it’s not the Knicks’ afternoon.
Haliburton jumps alone towards the hoop and dunks it. T.J. McConnell provides the airlift so that Obi Toppin Bury the ball on your back like in a dunk contest you’ve already participated in. The public shudders. The difference does not stop growing. At the end of the third quarter, it is already 38. Here, no one else notices. The conversations continue while Amy Winehouse delights us with her voice.
JJ Reddick analyzes the match for the broadcast of ESPN in English. Even though the fourth quarter has just begun, this story has already been written. The difference is greater than 40 points and the figures of both teams are now resting. It doesn’t matter if the Knicks manage to close the gap or not. 2-2 in the series is a fact.
Just when the game ends with Indiana’s 121-89 victory, the bar is at its peak. Some already choose a drink or a glass of wine instead of coffee. Autumn marks its presence in the city. The bell that the kitchen manager rings for each order he has ready sounds like an alarm for these Knicks who went from being clear favorites in the tie to finding themselves with more doubts than certainties.
The time is approaching when the chosen site is about to close its doors. The few who are with me at this time leave while the Pacers fans also leave the stadium. I write these last lines, pay and I also get ready to leave. It’s a Sunday afternoon of basketball, coffee, exquisite plays and wonderful sweet temptations.
Classics like Pacers-Knicks and Buenos Aires cafes never die. What’s more, they are more than current.
On Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, Game 5 of the series will offer another story to tell.
2024-05-12 22:15:00
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