MIKE DUNLEAVY Dominated the second half, scoring 27 of his career-high 36 points. He shot 13-of-18 from the field, hit 3-of-5 form the 3-point line and added seven rebounds and four assists.

JIM O'BRIEN "I think we were hot. I think we would've beaten a lot of teams tonight. When we're moving and spacing the court, we're a tough team to guard."

Points in the paint: Pacers 56, Knicks 34 Fast-break points: Pacers 15, Knicks 15 Second-chance points: Pacers 11, Knicks 2 Points off turnovers: Pacers 23, Knicks 21 Starters scoring: Pacers 93, Knicks 64 Bench scoring: Knicks 28, Pacers 26

After making 13 of their first 19 shots in taking a 29-26 lead early in the second quarter, the Knicks proceeded to miss their next 19 field goal attempts in a span of nearly 11 minutes as the Pacers took a 51-39 lead.

The Pacers return home Wednesday to face Andre Iguodala and the Philadelphia 76ers (7 p.m., FSN-Indiana, WIBC 1070-AM).

Postgame quotes Plus-minus rankings Game info

INDIANA 119, NEW YORK 92
Dunleavy delivers dominance

At New York | Dec. 17, 2007

That's when Mike Dunleavy simply took over.

Dunleavy accounted for the Pacers' final 20 points of the third quarter, scoring 16 and assisting on the other two baskets, fueling a 20-8 run that broke New York's fragile will and sent Indiana on the way to a 119-92 rout Monday in Madison Square Garden.

In all, Dunleavy scored 27 of his career-high 36 points in the second half and finished 13-of-18 from the field, adding seven rebounds and four assists in a stunningly dominant performance. It wasn't just a matter of getting hot from the perimeter; Dunleavy relentlessly attacked the basket, finishing with a variety of moves, including a couple of nifty reverses.

"It's hard to explain," said Dunleavy of his suddenly hot hand. "In the third quarter I got it going, my teammates did a good job of finding me, I knocked down some shots and we had a nice win."

The Pacers (13-12) won for the fourth time in five road games to improve to 8-5 away from Conseco Fieldhouse. Indiana also moved above .500 for the first time since a 3-2 mark on Nov. 9. The Knicks, who were lustily booed in the fourth quarter, lost for the sixth time in seven games to fall to 7-17.

"I think for the most part this team is pretty tightly knit," said Dunleavy. "We've been through a lot, especially recently, and when we get on the road we bond, we play well. If we can keep that up it'll be good and if we can go home and play better at home, we can have a really good season."

With the scored tied 64-all, the Pacers put the ball in Dunleavy's hands and he came to life. Not only did he make four baskets, including a 3-pointer, he attempted the team's first seven free throws of the game. Prior to that point, the Knicks enjoyed an 18-0 scoring advantage from the free-throw line.

"We were going to him because he was hot but also other people were looking for him, setting random pick-and-rolls on him, and he was just on fire," said Coach Jim O'Brien of Dunleavy. "It was great to see because we needed it."

O'Neal scored 22 points in 27 minutes, making 11-of-16 shots before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Troy Murphy shot 5-of-8 from the 3-point line on his way to 17 points, adding nine rebounds. Danny Granger had 16 points and nine rebounds. Jamaal Tinsley, playing with a deep thigh bruise, scored just two points but had 12 assists. Marquis Daniels had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench, while Jeff Foster pilled nine rebounds and made a major contribution to the effort by providing much-needed aggressive defense on Knicks forward Zach Randolph, who began the game ablaze. The Pacers shot .583 from the field and were 11-of-23 from the 3-point line.

Dunleavy's personal run sent the Pacers into the fourth quarter with an 84-72 lead and it was all downhill from the there for the home team as the margin swelled to 31 (119-88) before settling at its final 27.

Having established themselves as a strong road team, the Pacers now must set about building homecourt advantage at Conseco Fieldhouse, where they're just 5-7.

"Whatever we're not getting done at home we've got to correct," Dunleavy said. "We've got to be better. We'll have a chance this week with a couple of home games. I think it's playing with energy. We could certainly use a big boost from our crowd, and just play better, I guess."

For the Knicks, Randolph scored 22 of his 26 in the first half, adding nine rebounds, Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury scored 16 apiece, Jamal Crawford scored 13 and David Lee 12. New York shot just .380 but outscored the Pacers 28-10 from the free-throw line.