Game Rewind: Pacers 85, Knicks 92

Just as the Pacers needed a few games early in the season to grow chemistry, they're having to do the same as Victor Oladipo slowly returns to the lineup from his knee injury just over a year ago.

"He just has to continue to work himself into shape," head coach Nate McMillan said pregame of Oladipo. "As a team, we're going to have to establish this unit. You know, we haven't had these guys — all these guys in uniform — all season long. So this is, really the start of us establishing ourselves as a unit."

On defense, Indiana held New York to just 92 points on 34-of-82 (41.5 percent) shooting. However, it was just one of those nights on offense.

In just its fourth loss in the past 13 games, Indiana (31-18) fell to the New York Knicks (14-36), 92-85 in the second game of a three game homestand at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

After clawing back from a 50-39 halftime deficit to knot things at 80 midway through the fourth quarter, the Pacers then experienced a 4:31 scoreless drought that would put them behind for good.

Domantas Sabonis' three-point play gave Indiana a glimmer of hope, but Marcus Morris slammed the door shut on a jumper with 20.0 seconds remaining. He finished with a game-high 28, including 10 of the Knicks' final 12 points.

Sabonis, the newly named All-Star, provided a bright spot for Indiana, finishing with a team-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting while snagging eight boards. After missing the previous two games with an illness, Myles Turner finished as the only other Pacer in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all from deep. But the others finished a combined 18-of-56 (32.1 percent) from the field.

Indiana finished the first quarter with a season-low 11 points on 5-of-23 shooting, which ultimately set the tone for the rest of the first half.

"I didn't like the way we started the game," Turner said postgame. "I thought there was just a weird flow to the game, you know, it happens sometimes. Obviously our shots weren't going down, offense wasn't going the way we wanted it to go. So, it's hard when you have to fight your way back in games. They were the aggressors tonight."

The Blue & Gold found themselves in an early 12-4 hole before Pacers head coach Nate McMillan called a timeout to regroup the squad at the 7:57 mark of the first. Taj Gibson found four early points in the paint, finishing twice over the outstretch paw of Turner. Morris then connected on a 3-point shot from the left wing to finish the Knicks' spree.

T.J. Warren broke a 2:39 scoreless streak for Indiana with a mid-range jumper and cut the Knicks lead to 14-6 with 6:43 left in the frame. But the Pacers' shots continued to fall short for the next few minutes, and didn't connect on their next five shots. Meanwhile, New York's lead continued to grow.

In his second game back from his devastating injury, Victor Oladipo attempted to bring life into the crowd by finishing a baseline alley-oop slam off a Malcolm Brogdon lob. The flush cut the Pacers' deficit to 21-9 with 3:40 to play in the first.

But the Blue & Gold failed to convert the flush into momentum, and connected on just one more field goal in the frame.

The offensive woes continued early into the second quarter. The first bucket for the Blue & Gold – a Sabonis hook shot – came at the 8:49 mark of the second. It cut New York's lead to 33-18.

The shot sparked the big man, however, as he rattled off eight points of a 10-2 Pacers run that trimmed the deficit to 35-26 with 6:47 remaining in the half. His baseline slam from a Doug McDermott dish brought Indiana back to within single digits for the first time since the 5:44 mark of the first quarter.

Still, Indiana failed to utilize the big man's production over the next few minutes. Back-to-back threes from Damyean Dotson in a 24-second span created a 45-31 deficit for Indiana with 3:19 remaining.

For the remainder of the period, the Pacers could not find their stroke, and left the floor trailing 50-39 after two.

Indiana began chipping away at the lead early in the third. A 3-point shot from Myles Turner sparked the Blue & Gold's offense. Two Sabonis buckets then sandwiched a tough finish by Warren to cut the Knicks lead to 54-48 with 9:29 to play in the period.

Out of a timeout, Jeremy Lamb heated up from the floor. The guard scored seven straight Indiana points, including a cold-blooded three in the face of Reggie Bullock, to cut New York's lead to 58-55 with 6:49 in the third.

But momentum switched directions in favor of the Knicks after a controversial flagrant foul call on Malcolm Brogdon gave New York three free throws and possession. With 6:36 remaining, Allen rose from beyond the arc, but missed. However, a referee blew his whistle signaling contact. After Nate McMillan attempted a challenge, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant foul, much to the disagreement of the crowd.

To make matters worse, after fighting for a rebound down low, Warren fell to the floor and injured his head on the fall. With 5:12 remaining and the Pacers trailing 62-55, he headed to the locker room and did not return to action.

But Indiana wouldn't back down.

The Pacers used the 3-point range of Turner, Oladipo, and Justin Holiday to cut the Knicks' lead to just three, 72-69, with 1:41 left in the frame. With 15.6 seconds showing, Brogdon got Indiana back to within one on a nifty right-handed finger roll layup before time expired.

35 seconds into the final frame, Turner grabbed Indiana's first lead of the game, 74-72, on another trey. But New York quickly jumped out in front once again behind a 6-0 spree.

A three from McDermott followed by a Sabonis free throw knotted things at 80 apiece with 6:11 to play. But the Blue & Gold failed to score another point for the next 4:31.

Over that span, Morris controlled the pace for New York, scoring six points of an 8-0 run to give the Knicks an 88-80 lead with 1:54 remaining.

But Indiana attempted one last comeback.

After Brogdon ended the drought with a pull-up jumper, he found Sabonis with a football pass spanning the court. Sabonis finished the play with a two-handed slam through a foul, and sank the free throw to bring the Pacers to within three, 88-85, with 36.4 seconds remaining.

But Morris would not be denied on the Knicks' next possession. With 20.0 seconds remaining, he rose up and sank a mid-range jumper to ice the game for New York. Indiana would be denied a second-straight win in their three-game stand at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

In his second game back, Victor Oladipo finished with seven points, two rebounds, and an assist in 22 minutes of playing time.

Malcolm Brogdon finished just two points shy of his ninth double-double (eight points, 12 assists)

The Pacers finished with just 14 points in the fourth quarter – its lowest-scoring fourth quarter of the season.

"We couldn't hit shots. When you can't hit shots, you can't play as good of defense…how many points did we give up? 92? Most games, you win but unfortunately, we couldn't make a shot. It was just one of those games. At the end of the day, it's a tough loss. We still have to figure out a way to win. We're still trying to figure each other out. Obviously, I'm still trying to get my rhythm. I've been out a year, so coming off the bench, playing limited minutes, is new so I have to get used to that and just get used to the flow of the game again. Obviously, we won last game, but it was pure emotion out there and we made big shots in order to win. Unfortunately, tonight we couldn't do that. We're still figuring each other out. We just can't overreact. Everybody else might, but we just have to stay even keel and get ready for the Mavs on Monday.” – Victor Oladipo on tonight's performance

"We were flat the entire game. In the first quarter, we had some open looks that we didn't knock down. We needed to challenge ourselves and get ourselves into the game defensively. You're not going to defeat teams scoring 11 points in the first quarter and only 14 in the fourth quarter." - Pacers head coach Nate McMillan on what he told his team after the game

"We just have to keep rolling…just stay the course. It's that time of the year. We, obviously, have a healthy roster now so it's going to take some time to acclimate, bringing Vic back in, different types of lineups. We have time to figure it out but we can't come with too many excuses. We have to go out there and get it done." – Myles Turner on where they are this season, even with the loss

Indiana was outrebounded 57-34 on the night — its largest deficit of the season. New York's Julius Randle finished with a season-high 18 boards.

The Pacers wrap up a three-game homestand against Kristaps Porzingis and the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, Feb. 3 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »