
Fan ‘paid a witch' on Etsy to save Knicks season — and Stephen A. Smith couldn't be happier
Knicks fans left no stone unturned ahead of Game 5's 111-94 victory over the Pacers, employing a witch to conjure up some spirits to curse the Pacers ahead of a potential elimination game Thursday.
X user @vohit4rohit posted on X that he paid a witch on Etsy $8.48 to curse the Pacers and give the Knicks an extra edge.
4 Knicks fans called upon a witch to curse the Pacers ahead of Game 5.
Etsy | Priestess Aurora
'Knicks fans – I just paid a witch on Etsy to cast a spell to help us win game 5 tonight,' the X user said. 'I'm doing my part.'
ESPN host and Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith expressed his appreciation after the Game 5 win, responding to the post on X with: 'Thank you for your efforts.'
The shop on Etsy, known as 'Aurora Priestess,' claims to offer same-day spell casting, powerful and fast manifestation ritual and magical personal witchcraft, among other things.
4 The Priestess' shop on Etsy shows her workstation of where she casts spells. '
Etsy | Priestess Aurora
The Priestess says they are a 'devoted conduit of ancient magic.'
Twenty-seven people purchased spells from the witch in the last 24 hours, with the X user promising to pay her again ahead of Saturday's Game 6.
The Priestesses' Etsy shop page shows the video of her workstation with candles all around and some sort of potpourri combination on a desk.
Her account also includes pictures of ancient-looking cards, one of which shows the 'Wheel of Fortune' and other ancient signs.
The Game of Thrones-like character has 2,100 reviews and sparkling recommendations for those looking to conjure magic from another world to achieve powerful change.
The Knicks will need every bit of luck, magic, spirit mongering or any other non-conventional tactics to secure a win in Game 6 at Indiana.
The Pacers were blown out of the Knicks' building in Game 5, as Tom Thibodeau's group showed off some strong defense that allowed Indiana to shoot just 40.5 percent from the field.
4 The Knicks may have gotten some help from another world to win Game 5.
AP
4 Tyrese Haliburton may have been the one cursed Thursday.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Or perhaps it had nothing to do with the Knicks' strong defense and more to do with witchcraft putting a lid on the basket.
Tyrese Haliburton had his worst performance of the series Thursday, putting up just eight points and six assists on 2 of 7 shooting in 32 minutes.
Follow The Post's coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs
Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.
Game 6 on Saturday has every bit of intrigue you could possibly be looking for in the NBA, as the Knicks hope to force a Game 7 at home.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Indianapolis Star
2 hours ago
- Indianapolis Star
'He's just kind of an offensive savant.' How Kam Jones' senior year set him up to provide Pacers PG depth
INDIANAPOLIS – Kam Jones wasn't recruited to play point guard, and if Marquette was fully healthy last season, he probably never would have. The 6-4, 200-pound left-hander made his bones as a high scoring 2-guard at every level. At the Evangelical Christian School in Memphis he averaged 20.4 points points per game as a junior and 20.0 as a senior to earn Mr. Basketball honors in Tennessee's Division II Class A. For his first three years at Marquette, he played off the ball while Tyler Kolek ran point as Kolek led the Big East in assists in each of his last two seasons and earned All-America honors as a senior. But when Kolek left for the NBA and was drafted by the Knicks, the Golden Eagles had a hole. It was supposed to be filled by backup Sean Jones, but he tore his ACL in January of 2024 and ended up taking a redshirt this past season. So Kam Jones moved over and the experience ended up making a better player and one perfectly suited for what the Pacers would need in the 2025 draft. The Pacers traded their first-round pick to reacquire their pick for 2026, not thinking they'd have much room to find playing time for a rookie after their first run to the NBA Finals in 25 years with most of their key pieces set to return. However, All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles tendon tear in Game 7 of the Finals left them in need of temporary depth at the point. The Pacers traded back up into the draft to get the No. 38 overall pick in the second round and took Jones, who can add point depth this year, but just as easily move back to the 2 in the future. 'Really hard not to like Taelon Peter.' Draft's biggest surprise has purpose bigger than basketball Insider: How Kam Jones can answer Pacers' biggest backcourt question "Obviously with (Kolek) in there, I played the 2 a lot and played off the ball a little bit more," Jones said Sunday after practice for the Pacers' NBA Summer League team. "Having to have the ball in my hands really gave me a bunch of reps at being a point guard. It really helped my game from being a little flexible, can do either or. Whatever the team needs, that's what I'm willing to do." Jones' ability to adapt on fly to the position was one of the things that most impressed Marquette coach Shaka Smart during his time there. Jones focused immediately on his weak points and the parts of the job he hadn't executed before and learned what he had to do to involve others in the offense. His senior year was the best of his four years at Marquette as he averaged career-highs in points (19.2), assists (5.9) and rebounds (4.5). "He did a really good job of being intentional about the areas of the game you have to focus on when you play that position," Smart told IndyStar. "Intentionality with passing, with reading pick-and-rolls, different two-man actions with teammates understanding now that I'm the point guard, it's not just about coming off to score, it's about creating for other guys as well." Jones always had a natural desire to see other people succeed, so getting him to invest in his teammates' success wasn't that difficult. But he did have to learn about how to use the tools at a point guard and senior leader's disposal to make that happen. He needed better vision, better understanding of passing angles and also improved communication. He improved on all of the above. "It was more about understanding how to impact others," Smart said. "He's always had a willingness to make the people around him better, now at the point guard position and as the best player and a senior leader, he was more vocal than he's ever been. There was more accountability from him than there had ever been. He had always been a player who was about winning, but the player accountability before his senior year didn't typically come from him. In his senior year he made a really good jump with that. But honestly, his receptivity to what I was asking him to do made it simple for him doing to things we were wanting him to do." Adding the necessary tools to be a point guard only strengthened Jones' already impressive skill set. By the end of his freshman year, Smart had already determined Jones was the most gifted scorer on the roster even though he averaged a modest 7.4 points per game in 18.5 minutes per game, mostly off the bench. He started every game as a sophomore and averaged 15.1 points per game. Then as a junior he averaged 17.2 per game, shooting 50.1% from the floor and 40.6% from 3-point range. As a senior, his efficiency went down as his volume went up, but he was still the second leading scorer in the Big East behind Villanova's Eric Dixon. He helped Marquette win 24 games and earn a NCAA tournament bid before they lost to New Mexico in the first round. "He just has a lot of tricks up his sleeve," Smart said. "He's a very crafty ball-handler and finisher. He has a really good feel for impacting the defense with fakes and with nuances. He's got an incredible spin move, which I'm excited to see will that be as effective at the pro level. You're talking about better defenders and more length, but it was pretty much unstoppable at the college level. He's just kind of an offensive savant. And I'm Joe College Coach, but offense comes easy to him. He gets the spacing, he gets the timing, he gets the four guys on the court. He's a very, very good cutter. The scoring part comes pretty naturally to him." Defense hasn't been as natural in part because Marquette has asked so much from him on the offensive end. Smart's teams are primarily known for defensive pressure and Jones had to brings some of that. However, Smart noted Jones hasn't had to put the same level of focus on defense. To get on the floor in the NBA, he won't have a choice. "We obviously emphasized playing hard and getting after it, but we asked Kam to do so much on offense," Smart said. "I don't know if it was realistic to ask him to be our most desperate defender. I've coached guys before who were prolific scorers or offensive players in college. They get up there and if you want to stick around, you better guard at a high level because there's Tyrese Haliburton and there's Pascal Siakam, and there's other super-talented offensive players on that team and there are guys that understand that they have to play a role that starts on the defensive end and that will certainly be Kam to start his career." For now as the Pacers summer squad approaches its first game Thursday in Las Vegas, his offensive skill and versatility still promises to get him his first looks. Though he's dealing with a hamstring injury, the Pacers already like the options he gives them. "It's being dynamic," said Pacers assistant Isaac Yacob, who is serving as the Summer League team's head coach. "That just adds a layer to his game and to the team. Where he can say, 'Hey, I can play off ball and catch and be aggressive or I can lead a team and get people in the situation where they need to be in."
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Indiana Pacers 宣佈 Tyrese Haliburton 因跟腱撕裂將缺席 2025-26 NBA 賽季
為了確保 Tyrese Haliburton 的長期健康,球隊不會讓他急於明年復出,杜絕任何不切實際的期待。 Indiana Pacers 王牌控衛 Tyrese Haliburton 因右腳跟腱撕裂,將缺席整個 2025-26 NBA 球季。 傷勢發生於剛落幕的總決賽 Game 7,當時 Pacers 不敵 Oklahoma City Thunder。 Indiana Pacers 近日正式宣佈其明星控衛 Tyrese Haliburton 因右腳跟腱撕裂,將缺席整個 2025-26 NBA 賽季。溜馬籃球運營總裁 Kevin Pritchard 明確表示為了確保 Haliburton 的長期健康,球隊不會讓他於明年復出,杜絕任何不切實際的期待。 這場毀滅性的傷病發生在最近 NBA 總決賽第七場的第一節,當時溜馬不敵 Oklahoma City Thunder。核磁共振檢查證實了跟腱撕裂的診斷,這位 25 歲的球星隨即接受手術。雖然手術順利,但球隊選擇採取謹慎的復健策略,優先考慮他的完全康復。Pritchard 強調:「他明年不會上場,我們絕不會拿他的健康冒險。」 Tyrese Haliburton 從醫院病床上透過 X 向球迷發表了一則感性貼文,為讓球迷失望致歉,並承諾「會全力以赴回到這個位置」。他的缺陣加上 Myles Turner 的離隊,讓溜馬在即將到來的賽季面臨重大挑戰,失去兩位核心先發的他們勢必進入重建階段。球迷對這位年輕球星的回歸充滿期待,但目前球隊的重心將放在穩健的未來規劃上。 相關報導 > Chris Paul 直言或將於 2025-26 賽季後高掛球鞋退休 > 走進 Jordan Brand 一對一籃球錦標賽「THE ONE」台北站 > Nike Basketball 率先預覽 SNKRS 2025-2026 最新發售鞋款


New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Frank Layden, beloved Jazz head coach and GM, dead at 93
Frank Layden, the man who led the Jazz to their first NBA playoffs appearance in 1984 and helped build the foundations for successful teams in the 1990s, died Wednesday. He was 93. A cause of death was not announced. Frank Layden, former president of the Utah Jazz, is introduced during a 20-year reunion ceremony for the team that reached the 1997 NBA Finals, at halftime of the team's game against the Knicks on March 22, 2017, in Salt Lake City. AP The Brooklyn native helped the Jazz style into their new home in Utah after their move from New Orleans to Salt Lake City, taking over as general manager in 1979 and later becoming head coach in 1981. 'Frank Layden made a lasting impact on the Jazz, the state of Utah, and the NBA,' the Jazz posted on X. 'There will never be another like him. Our thoughts go out to his family as we join in mourning his loss and celebrating his life. Rest easy, Coach.' Layden began his coaching career at the collegiate level at his alma mater, Niagara University, where he coached for eight seasons and helped lead the program to an NCAA tournament appearance in 1970, the school's first. 'Frank had the unique ability to be larger than life yet able to care for those in his circle on a personal level,' Simon Gray, Niagara University's associate vice president for athletics, said in a statement. 'Although it has been 70 years since he graduated, I am confident that Niagara was on his mind at some point of every day since. He consistently checked in with his alma mater and showed his love for Monteagle Ridge in a myriad of ways. We will miss him dearly.' He moved to the professional ranks in 1976 as an assistant coach with the Hawks before taking the GM job with the Jazz three years later. During his time in the Jazz front office, Layden made two of the biggest picks in franchise history when he selected Karl Malone 16th overall in 1984 and John Stockton in 1985 at 13th overall. Head coach Frank Layden of the Jazz calls a play against the Kings on Jan. 2, 1988 at Arco Arena in Sacramento California. NBAE via Getty Images Malone and Stockton would go on to become the faces of basketball in Utah and were both enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. It turns out 1984 may have been the best year for Layden. He led the Jazz to the playoffs — a feat the team would pull off five times during his tenure — and coached in the NBA All-Star Game before getting named the NBA Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. Layden went 277-294 as Jazz head coach in the regular season. In December 1988, he stepped down as head coach, while retaining the role of team president and general manager. The move paved the way for Jerry Sloan to lead the Jazz to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998. Layden briefly coached the WNBA's Utah Starzz — who would later become the Las Vegas Aces — and served a short time as a consultant for the Knicks when his son, Scott Layden, was general manager.