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Game Rewind: Pacers 106, Knicks 98

Game Recap

It wasn't pretty, but the Pacers clawed their way to a win on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in their first game after the All-Star break.

T.J. Warren scored 27 points and Domantas Sabonis added 24 points and 13 rebounds as Indiana (33-23) began its playoff push with a 106-98 road win over the New York Knicks (17-39).

"I think we all felt a bit rusty," Sabonis said. "First game after All-Star, the most important thing is to get the win. It wasn’t the prettiest, but glad we got the win."

The Pacers definitely showed some rust early on Friday in their first game in nine days. Indiana went just 6-for-23 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the first quarter. Fortunately for the Blue & Gold, the Knicks were only marginally better, taking a 20-15 lead after one.

Playing a lineup of four reserves alongside their All-Star big man Sabonis, the Pacers were much better offensively at the start of the second quarter, surpassing their first-quarter point total just 4:09 into the frame.

Indiana took the lead shortly thereafter, using a 14-4 run that included seven points from their leading scorer, Warren, to open up a five-point lead. The visitors scored on their last three possessions of the half, with Myles Turner and Victor Oladipo hitting back-to-back 3-pointers before Oladipo blew by R.J. Barrett for a layup that pushed the lead to 51-44 at the break.

The Pacers quickly blew the game open after halftime. Sabonis, Turner, and Warren combined to score the first six points of the half. Then after a Barrett layup, Brogdon sank a floater and then Warren converted layups on the next two possessions to cap a 12-2 run to open the third quarter.

The Blue & Gold extended their lead to as many as 22 points in the third — buoyed by 11 points in the frame from Warren — and took an 80-65 lead into the fourth quarter.

New York managed to trim the deficit back down to single digits after a pair of free throws by Bobby Portis with 8:08 remaining. Doug McDermott appeared to halt New York's rally, drilling a 3-pointer and drawing a foul with 7:40 left.

But after the four-point play, the Knicks continued to chip away, scoring seven straight to make it a six-point game with 6:15 to play.

This time, Warren took over, scoring five straight points to push the lead back to 96-85 with 5:12 remaining.

Indiana went cold after that, failing to hit a field goal the rest of the way. But the Knicks never managed to get within a possession of the lead.

Damyean Dotson's 3-pointer with 23 seconds left made it 98-94, but Brogdon hit a pair of free throws and Randle missed two foul shots on the other end, effectively sealing the outcome.

"Both teams looked a little winded in the first half," Pacers head coach Nate McMillan said. "I thought the second half we came out, had a solid third quarter, they got going in the fourth quarter. We were able to finish. The key was to come out and put together a solid 48-minute game and I thought our guys did."

McDermott finished with 14 points off the bench, going 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Brogdon added 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

Oladipo tallied eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, three rebounds, and one assist in 25 minutes off the bench, but exited in the third quarter with a sore back and did not return.

Portis led New York with 19 points and six rebounds off the bench. Barrett added 17 points on 8-of-19 shooting, while Frank Ntilikina had 14 in the loss.

The Pacers wrap up a two-game road trip on Sunday night in Toronto against a Raptors team that handed the Blue & Gold a pair of narrow defeats earlier this month.

Inside the Numbers

Sabonis collected his 42nd double-double of the season, the most on the team and fifth-most in NBA franchise history. Troy Murphy holds the franchise record with 49 double-doubles in the 2008-09 season.

The Pacers' 15 points in the first quarter were their second fewest in the opening frame this season. Indiana's lowest-scoring first quarter also came against the Knicks, when they managed just 11 points in a loss to New York on Feb. 1.

Indiana outrebounded the Knicks 50-40 overall and 12-5 on the offensive glass.

The Pacers attempted 33 free throws — three shy of their season high — and made 26 (78.8 percent). New York finished the night 17-for-25 (68 percent) from the charity stripe.

You Can Quote Me On That

"We talked about rebounding. We emphasized that tonight. This (New York Knicks) is best offensive rebounding team in the league. Our team did a good job. We challenged the guards and the forwards all to get in there and help on the boards. Tonight, we dominated the boards." -McMillan

"We just have to calm down and understand what we are trying to do, make sure that everybody is on the same page. We just can't overreact in certain situations when they make a few shots down the stretch, we just have to calm down and play our game." -Warren on closing out games

"I like New York. I have a lot of friends and family here. I don't know if it's special but it's obviously a special arena and it always gives you that extra motivation." -Sabonis on playing well in Madison Square Garden

"I think we played good defense. They have some big guys out there. They hustled more than us and they made more hustle plays." -Barrett

Stat of the Night

Warren scored 25 or more points for the 13th time this season. Indiana has won its last eight games when he has finished with at least 25 points.

Noteworthy

  • The road team won all three games between the Pacers and the Knicks this season. Indiana won at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 7 and New York prevailed at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Feb. 1.
  • The Pacers have now won the season series with the Knicks in three straight seasons and six times in the last seven years.
  • The Knicks were without starting point guard Elfrid Payton on Friday due to a sore right ankle.

Up Next

Indiana heads north of the border to take on Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 6:00 PM ET.

Tickets

The Pacers return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to host Cody Zeller and the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

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