Game Recap
The Pacers (44-37) locked up the seventh seed in the upcoming Eastern Conference playoffs, beating the New York Knicks (32-50) in their final regular season game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday night, 102-90.
Indiana's first-round playoff matchup is now set, thanks to the Pacers' win and Detroit's loss to Miami. As the seventh seed, the Pacers will face off against the second-seeded Toronto Raptors. It will be the first ever postseason meeting between Indiana and Toronto.
"We're going to have our hands tied with them," Pacers point guard George Hill said about the matchup. "They're a great team, they've got a lot of great players, and they're well-coached. It's going to take a team effort (to beat them)."
The shorthanded Knicks actually led at halftime, but the Pacers seized control in the third quarter when Hill asserted himself offensively. The "hometown hero" scored 12 of Indiana's first 16 points after the break and triggered a 17-2 run that put the hosts in front for good.
"He was terrific, really terrific," Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said after the win. "He always welcomes whatever he's asked (to do). He's very, very versatile. We just want him to be aggressive and be a force."
All-Star forward Paul George agreed: "We've got to be like a bug in his ear, constantly just chipping away at him. Because he has so much talent and it's not being used (when he's not aggressive)."
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The Knicks got within seven points in the fourth quarter but never managed to cut the deficit to two possessions as the Pacers hung on for the win, putting a bow on their 27th straight regular season with a winning record at home, the longest active streak in the NBA.
George and Hill each scored 19 points to lead Indiana to victory. Ian Mahinmi added 14 points and eight rebounds, while rookie forward Myles Turner added 13 points and five boards off the bench.
"We really wanted to share the ball," Mahinmi said. "We wanted to come out, wanted to play for each other, wanted to move the ball from one side to the other. We wanted to run on deflections and stuff like that. I think when we play aggressively like that and move the ball like that, we’re a very hard team to beat."
Tuesday's game was the season finale for the lottery-bound Knicks and New York elected to hold out All-Star Carmelo Anthony and rookie phenom Kristaps Porzingis. But even without their two leading scorers, the Knicks got off to a scorching start.
The Knicks went 15-for-23 from the floor (65.2 percent) and made 4-of-5 shots from 3-point range in the first quarter, opening up a 36-29 lead. Former second overall pick Derrick Williams led the charge in the early going, scoring 12 points and going 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from three in the opening period.
The Pacers also got a surprising offensive spark from Mahinmi, who led the team with 12 points in the first quarter on 5-of-7 shooting.
The Blue & Gold did manage to climb within one on multiple occasions and closed the half with a 4-0 run in the final minute, but they would not retake the lead until after halftime.
Williams led all scorers with 21 points on the night. Knicks rookie guard Jerian Grant added 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists in the loss.
Inside the Numbers
Sixth man Rodney Stuckey scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Backup point guard Ty Lawson scored nine points (his most since signing with Indiana on March 7) and eight assists (one shy of his Pacers season high).
Indiana outscored the Knicks in the paint, 46-26.
The Pacers also dominated New York on the break, scoring 18 fastbreak points to the Knicks' four.
The Blue & Gold had 10 steals on the night, with four players tallying two or more. Monta Ellis finished with three steals, while George, Hill, and Stuckey each had two.
You Can Quote Me On That
"He's completing us. One thing we lacked was another experienced point guard. I like to have speed and shooting with Ty and George (Hill) has both." -Vogel on the addition of Lawson
"The ball was moving and we played defense. We got some stops and got easy opportunities, a lot of transition plays. That's really where the game opened up for us." -George on the second half
"In the first quarter they made a lot of shots and most of those were contested. I know that eventually if you keep taking contested shots, percentages will go lower. We kept that in our minds and kept playing hard." -Mahinmi
"We're getting rebounds and running and pushing and not slowing down. We're really not running too many plays. Guys are hitting shots." -Lawson on the bench's play
"From the positon we come from, a grueling 82-game schedule, the goal and the hope is to make the playoffs or otherwise it just seems like one long frustrating season if you can't get there. Everybody has to improve. We have to figure out how to get better so that we can get in the playoffs." -Knicks interim head coach Kurt Rambis
Stat of the Game
With Tuesday's win, the Pacers improved to 30-6 on the year when holding their opponent under 100 points.
Noteworthy
- The Pacers have now swept the season series with the Knicks for the second straight year and the third time ever in the history of the Pacers-Knicks series.
- Indiana has won seven consecutive games against New York.
- Pacers forward C.J. Miles did not dress for Tuesday's game due to a sore right shoulder.
- Pacers forward Solomon Hill scored six points and is now just three away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
Tickets
Playoff tickets will go on sale shortly after the first round schedule is announced. You can find out how to get VIP Access to playoff tickets at Pacers.com/Playoffs »