Game Rewind: Pacers 111, Knicks 98

Myles Turner and the Pacers showed their resolve on Wednesday night. Playing against a tough Knicks squad that has been one of the best teams in the NBA so far this season, Indiana (3-6) jumped out to an early lead and never relinquished it, withstanding numerous punches from New York (5-3), but still emerging with a 111-98 victory.

Turner led the way, scoring a game-high 25 points while going 7-for-10 from 3-point range, and also tallying 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Blue & Gold to their second straight win to close out a three-game homestand.

"I loved the way we played, loved the way we fought the entire night," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. "They made runs at us, but it was a bend but don't break type of night."

The Knicks had trimmed Indiana's lead to 85-83 just two minutes into the final frame, prompting a timeout from Carlisle. Out of the break, the Blue & Gold got some unexpected contributions to stave off the Knicks.

First, Malcolm Brogdon drove and kicked to T.J. McConnell in the right corner. Though not know for his shooting, McConnell confidently rose up and drained the three. Then on the other end, backup center Goga Bitadze stripped Knicks point guard Derrick Rose at the top of the key and drove the length of the court for a layup.

Eventually Carlisle went back to his starting five, and they also delivered. With Indiana up 95-91, LeVert missed a fadeaway jumper on the left baseline, but Domantas Sabonis was there to pull down a strong rebound in traffic and quickly dished across the paint to Turner for a two-hand slam. On the other end, Turner contested RJ Barrett at the rim, triggering a break where Sabonis found Turner on the left wing for his sixth three of the night.

A short while later, Turner added yet another triple to push the Pacers' lead to 105-93 with 4:34 to play. The Blue & Gold held on the rest of the way for their most impressive win so far this season.

"There's an old saying, they say the ball finds energy," Turner said. "I think when you play the game the right way, things usually work out for you. That's how I've been trying to (play) these last few games, assert myself."

LeVert finished with 21 points and five assists in the victory, while Brogdon added 17 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

Turner ignited Indiana's offense at the start of Wednesday's contest. The 6-11 center connected on his first two 3-point attempts, then put back a LeVert miss to tally eight points in the first 100 seconds of the game. Rookie Chris Duarte added a trey of his own at the 9:55 mark to give the Pacers an 11-0 lead and force an early timeout from Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.

"Myles Turner was spectacular really at both ends of the floor, shooting the three tremendously well," Carlisle said after the win.

New York subsequently went on a 12-6 run to cut into the Pacers' lead. But Torrey Craig and Indiana's reserves checked in and made an immediate impact. Craig scored eight points — including a pair of threes — to trigger a 14-4 run for the Blue & Gold.

Duarte once again had some magic in store for the end of the first quarter. After a Derrick Rose layup with 6.2 seconds remaining. Duarte raced down the floor, pulled up from deep, and swished the trey to give the hosts a 36-22 lead entering the second quarter.

New York opened the ensuing frame with a 14-7 surge to trim the deficit to seven, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Goga Bitadze and Turner pushed the lead back to double digits. The Blue & Gold managed to keep the Knicks from seriously threatening the lead the remainder of the half, and took a 59-50 advantage into the break.

The Knicks mounted a rally in the third quarter, however, as Barrett and Julius Randle combined for six straight points to make it a 69-66 game with 6:16 remaining in the frame.

That's when LeVert took over. Over the next three Pacers possessions, the sixth-year swingman drilled a jumper, drew a foul and hit both free throws, and then hit a step-back 3-pointer to cap a personal 7-0 run.

That stretch was enough to hold New York at bay for a while, but the visitors eventually strung together another seven unanswered points to get within three once more at 78-75 with 1:44 remaining left in the frame. Once again, LeVert responded, this time hitting another tough two in the closing seconds of the quarter to push the lead back to five entering the fourth quarter.

Six Pacers reached double figures in the victory. Craig tallied 12 points and seven boards off the bench, Sabonis added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Duarte scored 10 points and grabbed five boards.

Barrett led the Knicks with 23 points, while Randle added 18 points and 14 rebounds.

The Pacers will now embark on a difficult four-game Western Conference road trip, which begins on Friday night in Portland.

The Pacers outscored the Knicks by 33 points from beyond the arc. Indiana went 16-for-41 (39 percent), while New York was just 5-for-24 (20.8 percent).

Turner recorded his third double-double in nine games this season.

Playing together in a game for the first time this season, LeVert and Brogdon combined for 38 points and 12 assists.

Duarte kept his double-digit scoring streak alive and has now tallied at least 10 points in each of the first nine games to start his career.

The Pacers had just 13 turnovers for the game, one more than their season low, set on Oct. 22 at Washington.

"New York's a hard-playing, tough, talented team that just keeps coming at you. The beginning of the third, they made a run. They were making runs really the whole half. I'm really, really proud of the way we kept our poise and our aggression." -Carlisle

"It was more on the defensive side of the ball. We knew if we got stops on that end, we would get easy baskets in transition. Malcolm was preaching in every huddle that we had just to keep getting stops and lock in on defense. I think we did that. We held them under 100 points and they couldn't really score in the fourth quarter." -LeVert on the Pacers' withstanding the Knicks' runs

"Today felt like a new beginning. The team got rolling a little bit while I was out (against) San Antonio, but tonight was honestly a better team and was going to present different and way bigger challenge for us. And we dominated it." -Brogdon

"I absolutely love it. I don't take none of that personally. I've got the green light to shoot it, especially in those situations...That's not going to be the case night in and night out, but if that's the case, I'm going to let it fly." -Turner on the Knicks

Turner hit seven 3-pointers on Wednesday night, two more than his previous career high. He had made five threes twice previously, going 5-for-9 at Washington on Oct. 22 and also went 5-for-6 in a win over Toronto on Dec. 23, 2019.

The Pacers tip off a four-game road trip in Portland against Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers on Friday, Nov. 5 at 10:00 PM ET.

After a four-game Western Conference road trip, the Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »