Game Rewind: Pacers 121, Knicks 113

The Slam Dunk Contest isn't until Saturday, but for the most of the game on Sunday night, Victor Oladipo appeared to be showcasing some of the better moves in his arsenal.

The Pacers entered the second half leading the Knicks by six points, but began the third quarter on a game-breaking 22-8 run during which Oladipo delighted the home crowd with a one-handed slam over Knicks forward Kyle O'Quinn. From there, the Pacers parried a late run from New York, going on to win 121-113 in their final home game before the All-Star break.

"We did a good job of settling down on both ends of the floor and getting stops," Oladipo said after the game. "Just trying to dictate our pace on both ends of the floor. We just got to build on it."

While Oladipo's third-quarter slam in the third may have been one of his most difficult, his second-quarter one will be the one on the highlight reels. Oladipo — who finished with 30 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds — was left all alone on a fastbreak and proceeded to throw down a 360 jam, one of his most impressive plays of the season.

It was Oladipo who made several of the notable plays on Sunday, but he was just one of many Pacers who had it going offensively against the struggling Knicks.

Bojan Bogdanovic canned four 3-pointers on the night, racking up 15 of his 20 points in the first half. Also strong for the Pacers was Joe Young, who came in off the bench and racked up 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, providing a boost to Indiana's second unit.

"I thought our movement was good tonight," said Pacers head coach Nate McMillan at the postgame podium. "Our 27 assists is proof of that."

Despite the Pacers leading by as much as 20 in the third quarter, the Knicks made a serious game out of it, closing the third quarter strong and narrowing the deficit down to just seven points when O'Quinn connected on a corner three with 8:36 remaining in the game.

O'Quinn was one of New York's top weapons on the night, finishing with 14 points and nine boards. Aside from O'Quinn, starting center Enes Kanter proved to be a handful in the paint, tallying 17 points and 11 rebounds.

With the Knicks looking ready to break back into the game, Lance Stephenson provided the response Indiana needed. The crowd-hyping guard delivered a baseline runner, a 3-pointer, and a nifty assist to Thad Young who connected on a three as well. After Young's three fell through the hoop, O'Quinn pushed Stephenson to the ground, drawing a technical foul.

By the time Oladipo sent the technical foul shot through the hoop, the Pacers had embarked on a Lance-centric 9-2 run, leaving Indiana up 110-96 with under seven minutes remaining as they cruised to victory.

"I was just trying to get the game over with, man," said Stephenson of his game-closing stretch of play. "Just trying to make a run and get my teammates involved."

In the first quarter, the visitors got their lead as large as six points. But from there, Indiana's All-Star responded, drilling a three for his first points of the night, then following it up with an electrifying one-handed slam to make it a 16-13 Knicks lead.

Both offenses looked fully in gear throughout the first quarter, with Pacers forward Thad Young putting the final touches on the opening frame with a tip-in bucket to make it a 37-36 New York lead.

As the second quarter got underway, the Knicks seemed to be on their way to taking control of the game, going up by four when O'Quinn converted an open layup that triggered a timeout from McMillan.

Out of the break, however, Indiana's offense hit its stride, opening up an impressive 9-0 stretch which forced Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek to call a timeout of his own.

With the Pacers leading by eight, the Knicks began to make a run, going on an 8-0 sprint to tie things up at 53 in the final five minutes of the half.

But for the remainder of the half, the Pacers had control of the contest. In the closing moments of the frame, Oladipo got loose on a fastbreak and executed a 360 slam, sending Bankers Life Fieldhouse into hysterics. The dunk helped Indiana solidify its six-point lead at the break.

With their slight edge to begin the second half, the Pacers went on their game-defining 22-8 run to begin the third quarter, creating a gap that the Knicks were never able to close as Indiana finished out yet another home victory — its 20th of the season.

With one more game before the All-Star break, the Pacers are now aiming to close out with a win over Brooklyn, and they'll have two days to prepare for the road matchup.

"To me, this is the most important two days of the season right now, especially for this young team," Al Jefferson explained. "Because you kind of get in that 'we done won a couple games in a row' ... It's easy to just get in that vacation mode, and I can't let these guys do that."

The Pacers outrebounded the Knicks 54-45. Indiana is now 16-5 when outrebounding its opponent.

Bojan Bogdanovic has now hit 13 of his last 24 3-point attempts.

Victor Oladipo nearly reached his season high in steals, notching six takeaways, one short of his career-best seven.

"Sometimes when you have a big lead, guys tend to relax, and one shot can take you out of rhythm. We had a couple of those plays where guys started to get a little fancy out there. I think we took some quick shots and kind of lost our rhythm. You have to stay focused and stay with the game plan. You don't play the scoreboard, you play the game and you always play the game the right way for the full 48 minutes." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"It's not difficult because there's a bigger goal. The break is great. All-Star Weekend is great but at the end of the day, we have bigger aspirations and bigger goals for this group and this season, so we have to be ready." -Victor Oladipo on approaching the All-Star break

"You see what Oladipo can do well. That's what makes him tough. They run that high pick and roll, and they stick the center in there and he can either pull up for the three or he's quick to the basket. You saw one where he took one dribble and dumped it, so you have that weapon, you are either shooting the three or getting to the basket as quickly as he can. It's tough on those bigs. We felt like we were there a lot, but he was still able to finish." -Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek

The Pacers — who finished the night shooting exactly 50 percent from the field — improved to 20-1 when shooting 50 percent or better.

The Pacers travel to Brooklyn for their final game before the 2018 All-Star Game. The action tips off at the Barclays Center at 7:30 PM ET.

Head to Pacers.com/Hickory to learn more about the life and legacy of Sunday night's Hickory Honoree, Tony Hinkle. Read More »