Knicks bounce back to defeat the Pacers 92-84

A classic game at the Garden with the Knicks playing old school defense to defeat the Indiana Pacers 92-84.

After a balanced first half where the lead alternated and never went past five points, the Knicks were trailing by one point at halftime, 49-48, following back-to-back threes by Indiana. But as the third quarter began, the Pacers went on a 13-0 run that gave them the biggest lead of the game, 64-52.

RJ Barrett, who was 0-6 in the first half, made his first basket late in the third, a 26-foot three point jumper that cut the lead to single digits. Less then a minute after, he made another three that had the Knicks trailing 70-62. By the end of the third the Pacers’ lead was cut to just five.

Moving into the final act, the Pacers hit the Knicks wall. They made just two baskets and were kept to only 10 points while the Knicks shot 8-19 from the field, outscoring their rivals 24-10.

“It’s kind of like ’90s-style basketball. You’ve got to go out there and fight. It’s kind of like a playoff game the way we were playing tonight.”

– Taj Gibson

Immanuel Quickley scored 8 of his total 16 points in the fourth quarter. He scored the first three pointer for New York early in the second quarter, overall was 4-4 from behind the arc and tied the game in the fourth with five straight points. Barrett, who was scoreless for two and a half quarters finished with 12 points and alongside Quickley, was one of the key factors of the Knicks’ comeback.

Kemba Walker also finished with 16 points. He scored his first 12 buckets in the first quarter and sat during the fourth when Derrick Rose led the way. Rose finished with 14 points, a team-high 7 assists and shot 7-14 from the field.

Julius Randle struggled. He scored 11 points on a 5-15 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out five assists and committed five turnovers. Got some light boos from the crowd late in the third but finished the game playing as the only starter.

The Pacers were led by Malcom Brogdon with 22 points, 8 boards and 5 assists. Behind him was Domantas Sabonis with 21 buckets and 15 rebounds while Caris LeVert dropped 17 points.

The Knicks improved 8-6 and cut a three game losing streak at home.

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Up-next: Wednesday night from 7:30pm the Knicks (8-6) will host the Orlando Magic (3-11).