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Game Rewind: Pacers 103, Knicks 82

Game Recap

When they were steamrolling their way to the best record in the Eastern Conference last season, the Pacers owned the third quarter. The Blue & Gold (17-31) got back to their old ways on Thursday night, dominating the first period after halftime en route to a 103-82 win over the New York Knicks (9-38).

Indiana led by five points at the break, but quickly blew the game open in the second half. The Pacers started the half by going to the post early and often. Center Roy Hibbert scored on four of the team's first five possessions and had 10 points barely over four minutes into the period.

"Big Dog was big for us," Pacers forward Solomon Hill said of Hibbert's performance. "We kept giving him the ball and he kept delivering."

But it wasn't just Hibbert who had it going in the third. The entire team was en fuego.

Rodney Stuckey scored seven points in the period, hitting all three of his shots. Solomon Hill buried a pair of triples on back-to-back possessions. As a team, the Blue-and-Gold went 5-for-7 from 3-point range and shot a blistering 65.2 percent from the field.

On the other end, the Pacers held the Knicks in check, as New York shot just 21.1 percent from the field. As a result, Indiana outscored the visitors, 35-12, making a victory all but inevitable.

"We saw openings and then I got going a little bit and other guys were able to get going," Hibbert said. "The third quarter was a very important turn for us."

Though the Pacers came away with the win, it was the Knicks, winners of four of their last five games, who were firing on all cylinders in the early going. New York scored on eight of their first 11 possessions, shot 61 percent in the first quarter, and led by as many as 11 points.

Perennial All-Star Carmelo Anthony had it going early. Melo scored 12 points in the first quarter on 4-of-7 shooting, making both of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

But the Pacers turned the tables in the second quarter. Indiana made 14-of-23 shots in the period (60.9 percent) to take a five-point lead into the break.

Fresh off a 22-point performance on Tuesday, Stuckey picked up where he left off on Thursday, scoring 11 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting.

But the most impressive player in the first half was Pacers reserve forward Lavoy Allen.

Allen had fallen out of the rotation for the last seven games, but Pacers head coach Frank Vogel gave him backup minutes at power forward against the Knicks and the 6-foot-9 big man responded. Allen scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and collected five rebounds (three of them offensive) in 9:24. Indiana was +12 with the Temple alum on the floor in the first half.

"He was great," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said. "Doing what he normally does, knocking down mid-range shots, making some good passes, and hurting our opponent on the glass."

However, Allen injured his right knee late in the half and did not return. It didn't end up being a major factor given the Pacers' third-quarter dominance, but it was a sour end to a surprise storyline. Vogel said the Pacers would re-evaluate Allen's health on Friday.

Stuckey led the Pacers with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Hibbert recorded his 12th double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points (on 9-of-11 shooting) and 10 rebounds. David West and Solomon Hill each added 10 points as 11 Pacers players found their way into the scoring column.

Anthony led the Knicks with 18 points on 8-of-17 shooting, but only scored two after halftime. Lou Amundson surpassed his season high with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Indiana returns to the court on Saturday night, when they host DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings at 7:00 PM at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Inside the Numbers

The 21-point margin of victory was the Pacers' largest in a home win this season. They shot a season-best 53.2 percent from the field.

The Knicks' 12 points in the third quarter were the fewest New York has scored in any quarter all season.

Pacers center Ian Mahinmi finished with eight points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. The Fashionable Frenchman has now collected 10 or more rebounds in seven games this season after accomplishing the feat only six times over his six previous NBA seasons.

Journeyman forward Lou Amundson's 17 points were a surprise to pretty much everyone in the building. Amundson, who spent the 2011-12 season in Indiana, hadn't scored in double figures in 102 consecutive appearances, the longest active streak in the NBA.

You Can Quote Me On That

"It’s been a long time since we’ve had a win like that. It’s good to see that tonight the ball movement was good, the shooters made some shots, and the guys that were looking for a rhythm got their rhythm. This is a very good win and hopefully it gets us a little momentum." -Ian Mahinmi

"We definitely wanted to establish David (West) and Roy (Hibbert) inside, but we made a lot of 3-point shots in the third quarter and that made a difference, too." -Frank Vogel

"They were hot coming out, but sometimes you have to look at it and say, can they keep it up the whole game? I think we just weathered the storm and pulled out the win." -Roy Hibbert

"It was bad. They came out and hit shots and got a lot of confidence. Seemed like they came out ready with more energy and effort. The first five minutes was the difference. They got the ball to Roy inside and we adjusted, then they would kick it out and hit some shots and then we’d have to adjust again." -Lou Amundson

"We couldn’t sustain the energy and effort necessary to compete tonight. Their size started to wear us down a little bit and we missed not having a couple bodies in the paint tonight. They had more juice than us tonight and they were the better team." -Knicks head coach Derek Fisher

Stat of the Game

Veteran Pacers forward Luis Scola did not see the floor on Thursday night after playing in 277 consecutive regular season games, the second-longest active streak in the NBA. In his entire career, Scola had only missed eight games prior to Thursday, all of those coming when he dealt with an injury while playing for Houston during the 2010-11 season.

Pacers fans shouldn't be alarmed, however. Frank Vogel said after the game that he told Scola on Wednesday that he wanted to give the 34-year-old the night off and the Argentinian had no issues with Vogel's decision. Scola should return to the rotation on Saturday against Sacramento.

Noteworthy

  • With the win, the Pacers improve to 5-1 this season when Rodney Stuckey scores 20 or more points.
  • Indiana is also 5-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the floor.
  • The Pacers have now won five straight regular season games against the Knicks at The Fieldhouse. New York hasn't won in Indiana since March 17, 2012.
  • New York still leads the all-time series with the Pacers 87-74, but Indiana is now 51-30 against the Knicks in Indianapolis.

Up Next

The Pacers host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:00 PM. Find Tickets »