Stephen A. Smith Didn't Hesitate Calling Out Tom Thibodeau After Knicks' Game 2 Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 24, 2025 7:40 AM ET

The New York Knicks are in big trouble. They suffered a 114-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, which has now put them at a 2-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals.

What makes this situation way worse is the fact that the Knicks lost both Game 1 and 2 at home in Madison Square Garden, which only means that the Pacers can close this series out as it heads to Indiana for Game 3 and 4.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith was devastated after the loss. Putting on his Knicks fan hat, the renowned sportscaster went on a lengthy rant on social media as he questioned head coach Tom Thibodeau's decisions during the loss.

"I'm trying to keep my cool, you know? There's always hope," Smith started. "But I don't understand for the life of me how in the hell Tom Thibodeau has KAT playing just 28 minutes.

"He's going to try to tell us it was defense. But with Mitchell Robinson on the court, the deficit increased."

Smith's main gripe stemmed from the fact that Towns was forced to watch a significant part of the fourth quarter from the bench despite being one of New York's best players on the evening.

Towns finished with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting, and Smith has implied here that the Knicks would have had a better shot at winning this game if the 7-foot big man was on the floor in the fourth quarter.

"I don't know what else to say," Smith continued. "I mean, I do know what to say. I don't want to. I don't want to.

"I don't know what Tibbs is doing tonight. I have no clue. I have no idea."