Game Rewind: Pacers 129, Knicks 138

Wednesday, April 5 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

While the Indiana Pacers were able to survive a rollercoaster first three and half quarters against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, one final scoring stretch and a trio of 30-plus-point performances proved too much for the Blue & Gold.

The Knicks (47-33) went on an 18-9 run in the final 4:34 to break open a tie game and escape with a 138-129 victory over the Pacers (34-46) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. With the win, the Knicks hold a 3-0 season series lead over the Pacers.

Immanuel Quickley led all scorers with 39 points, Quentin Grimes recorded a career-best 36 points and Obi Toppin dropped in a season-best 32 points for the Knicks. Mitchell Robinson also had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

The trio of offensive performances is just the third time in Knicks history that three players scored 30 or more points in a single game. It was the first time that happened for a Knicks team since March 24, 1979.

For Indiana, eight players scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Jalen Smith, 18 points by T.J. McConnell off the bench and 17 points from rookie Bennedict Mathurin. McConnell also recorded 12 assists for his sixth double-double this season.

The visitors shot 52-for-100 (18-for-46 3-point range) from the field while the Pacers finished 45-for-98 (15-for-30 3-point range).

“They just punched us in the mouth early,” Smith said. “We got off to a slow start. I don’t think we (were) fully prepared to play as a starting unit. That was our fault. That was the reason why we dug that hole, why we lost that game. Because the starters didn’t really do our job today.”

Several key players sat out from the game, including Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and R.J. Barrett for the Knicks and Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Chris Duarte for the Pacers.

The outcome of the game didn’t alter any playoffs seeding.

New York is currently sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a playoff berth clinched, but can’t catch the Cleveland Cavaliers for fourth, while Indiana has been eliminated from postseason contention entirely.

The Pacers dug out of an 18-point first quarter hole by closing the first half on a 15-8 run to trail the Knicks 70-67 at intermission.

Indiana came out ice cold and New York could hardly miss to start the game.

The Knicks hit eight of their first 13 shots, with Quickley logging nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, to go on a 17-0 run and lead 21-7 with 6:25 left in the first quarter. Indiana, on the other hand, shot 3-for-12 to begin.

New York continued scoring at a high volume, using a pair of mini 5-0 scoring spurts to build their lead, before the Pacers answered with a run of their own as Gabe York – who was playing in his first game of the season on a two-way contract – hit two 3-pointers and McConnell got a bucket to cut it to 32-22 with 2:10 left in the opening frame.

At the end of the first quarter, the Pacers trailed 38-29.

York, who was playing in his third NBA game ever, hit another 3-pointer to start the second quarter to spur a 9-4 run to make it a four-point game with nine minutes left in the half.

After tying the game at 44, the Knicks scored eight unanswered points thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Grimes to lead 52-44 with 5:04 on the clock.

The Knicks led again by 10 before Mathurin converted an and-one and fellow first-year man Andrew Nembhard drilled a 3-pointer to spur the 15-8 Pacers run in the final 3:11 of the half to make it a three-point game.

Out of the break, Jordan Nwora hit a 3-pointer to knot the game and the teams then stayed within a possession until the Knicks went on an 8-0 run, thanks to 3-pointers by Quickley and Toppin and an alley-oop from Robinson, to lead 88-82 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The Knicks didn't relinquish the lead before the end of the third quarter and used a 14-2 scoring streak to lead by 14 points before the Pacers scored seven unanswered in the final 37 seconds including a layup by McConnell at the buzzer.

The teams tied the score four times until back-to-back dunks from Toppin and a 3-pointer from Grimes gave the Knicks a 127-120 lead with just under three minutes left.

New York was able to hang on to the lead from there and held the Pacers to six points down the final stretch until Mathurin hit a wide open 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining.

“To start the game, we made some game plan errors that put us in a big hole,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “… It’s all stuff that’s correctable. As coaches, we’re teachers. We've gotta teach and not ridicule – make sure these guys understand the things they have to do better.”

New York won the rebounding margin 52-37 and the Pacers had 17 turnovers.

Indiana will conclude its 2022-2023 home schedule on Friday by hosting the Detroit Pistons. The Pacers finish out the regular season against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

The Pacers were outscored 24-16 in second-chance points, 28-17 in fast-break points, and 68-54 in points in the paint.

York scored a career-high nine points.

McConnell matched his season-best 12 assists.

Oshae Brissett finished with the highest +/- for the Pacers at +28 and York was a +22.

“The guys that started the game learned some valuable things tonight about being ready to play right off the bat against a team that's very physical.” – Carlisle on the starting lineup

“We started the second half, we did better for a while and then it went sideways. Then they had the opportunity to finish and we just made some mistakes. We’re going to learn from those.” – Carlisle on the loss

“I love Gabe. What's not to like about the guy? He’s consistent. He’s loyal and he’s got skill. He knows who he is as a player (and) who he is as a teammate.  … He's just been a real staple for the (Fort Wayne) Mad Ants the last two years. He's a first-class person, a hell of a player and this is a great opportunity for him and a great opportunity for our guys to play with another guy like this.” – Carlisle on York’s performance

“I’ve run out of adjectives to describe his competitive excellence.” – Carlisle on McConnell

“It always takes practice playing with new groups, new lineups, new experiments. Everybody’s learned a lot. Everybody’s been playing different roles and expanding their roles and just working to get better.” - Aaron Nesmith on continuing to develop chemistry with young starting unit

“They play hard. Real skilled guys, hard to keep in front. They’re quick, they have a good first step, got good finishing around the rim and then they both can shoot the ball. We’ve got to do a better job of containing them, but luckily we get another chance in (four) days.” -- Nesmith on Quickley and Grimes having big nights

“I was just playing my game. Didn’t go outside my box, didn’t do nothing crazy. Just did what I know I can do and the team knows I can do. The main focus was just not trying to force anything, but let the game come to me.” - Smith on his offensive performance

“He was incredible. He is such a gifted shooter and a gifted scorer. Proud is an understatement. Me and him go way back and to see him come in, in an NBA game and hit the ground running … it's not surprising, but it's awesome to see.” – McConnell on York, who is a former college teammate of his

“We were playing unselfish, we were moving the ball, getting out running and when we do that we do best. It's not about one person, it’s about the collective. And when we get the ball side to side and you know, get people touching it, a lot of teams struggle to guard it.” – McConnell on the second unit’s scoring

By scoring 129 points against the Knicks, the Pacers set a new NBA franchise record for total points in a season. With two games left, the Pacers are at 9,279 points.The previous high was 9,197 set during the 1991-1992 season.

The Pacers will play their final home game of the season when they host Jaden Ivey and the Detroit Pistons at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Fan Appreciation Night presented by Kroger on Friday, April 7 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>