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Sunday, November 18 at 12:00 PM EST at Madison Square Garden
Game Rewind: IND 76, NYK 88
by Scott Agness
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Game Recap
Playing in the Big Apple, the Pacers (4-7) knew the kind of team they were up against. The Knicks (7-1) were the last unbeaten team in the NBA and have the best record in the East. In a matinée contest featuring poor shooting both ways, the Knicks defeated the Pacers 88-76.
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The opening quarter featured an inside clash between two-time NBA All-Star David West and five-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony. West scored eight in the quarter while Anthony had 12 of New York’s 21 first-quarter points.
The Pacers cold shooting got even worse in the next quarter. They started the period down three, but made only one field goal in the first eight minutes and then just two more before half, and found themselves down 41-30. It wasn’t as if the Knicks were defending particularly well or doing something different. The Pacers failed to get buckets to fall and were 3-of-16 (18.8%) in the quarter.
David West reignited the Pacers by scoring the team’s first three shots to open the second half. Coach Vogel then made a few personnel changes that seemed to work. Tyler Hansbrough came in for Roy Hibbert, who looked hesitant in the post and had six turnovers, and Lance Stephenson ran the offense late in the quarter instead of backup point guard D.J. Augustin. The Knicks used an 8-2 run to go up 56-40 but the Pacers later connected on three straight 3-pointers to cut the Knicks lead to nine, 54-63. But they wouldn’t come any closer.
Down 19 with under four to play, Coach Vogel understood the game was out of hand and with a game tomorrow in Washington, he brought in Ben Hansbrough, Jeff Pendergraph and Miles Plumlee. A late 3-pointer from Steve Novak gave the Knicks a 20-point lead, their biggest of the game. Indiana played New York even in the fourth quarter and within one in the second half. Ultimately, the rough start and inability to get shots to fall in the first half played the Pacers.
The Pacers lose their third game by double-digits and fall to 4-7 on the season.
Inside the Numbers
Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 26 points, 12 coming in the first quarter. Paul George led Indiana with 20 points and David West added 14 along with seven rebounds.
The Pacers' inside game was ineffective. Roy Hibbert only scored six points (3-for-10) and he turned it over a team-high six times. Ian Mahinmi, Hibbert’s backup, didn’t make a shot: 0-for-6 and 0-for-2 at the charity stripe.
The Pacers failed to connect on more than 67% of their free throws for the third game in a row.
The Pacers set an assist-ratio record. They had assists on 75% of their made shots (21 assists on 28 field goals).
The Pacers led just once Sunday, 5-4, after two David West free throws.
Quotable
"Compared to the Knicks, we played pretty physical basketball, very aggressive with the hands; turnover differential was probably the difference in the game.” – Frank Vogel
"The ball movement and player movement that we’re trying to shift our focus to ... always takes time. I felt good about the ball movement and the player movement. The ball has to go in the basket. We missed a lot of open shots, and we didn’t take care of the ball well enough. We weren’t tough enough with the basketball. They (New York Knicks) are a ball stripping team and we didn’t pay enough attention to that.” – Frank Vogel
"We turned the ball over way too much. When you look at it, we got 71 attempts and they got 90 attempts. When you are playing with a team as dangerous as New York and you give them 20 more shots, of course you are going to get the results you got tonight.” – Paul George
"We just have to figure out as a unit how we can get more offensive looks and get rolling a little bit better and something has to change…it’s not working. Other than these two games, besides this one and San Antonio…we’re in the game because our defense is holding up. We just can’t find a way to put the ball in basket. There will be nights where your guys have two-for-ten nights, and not scoring ... that’s a part of basketball. As a collective group, we have to find a way to get easy baskets and right now that’s what we’re not getting.” – George Hill
Stat of the Game
The Pacers shot well enough to compete in the second half. However, turnovers didn't give them a chance for a comeback, as their 19 turnovers led to 18 Knicks points.
Noteworthy
- Lance Stephenson and Jason Kidd's heads collided early in the first quarter. Kidd went back to the locker room and needed seven stitches in the right side of his head. He returned to the game and wore a headband over the cut.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson earned a technical foul 90 seconds into the game.
- Donnie Walsh made his first return to Madison Square Garden, where he once was the Knicks President from 2008-2011.
Up Next
The Pacers travel Sunday afternoon to Washington D.C. for the second half of a back-to-back, playing against the winless Wizards at 7:00 PM EST on Monday.
Back at home: Wednesday, Nov. 21st at 7:00 vs. New Orleans. Buy Tickets »
