Game Rewind: Pacers 122, Knicks 102

Coming off an impressive win over the Washington Wizards, the Pacers (11-16) kept rolling against the New York Knicks (12-13) on Wednesday night.

The squad played with intense energy out of the gate once again. The Pacers grabbed their first lead with 9:55 to play in the first quarter and never relinquished it. In the end, it was a dominant, 122-102 victory over the visitors.

All five starters finished in double figures, with rookie Chris Duarte leading the way with 23 points and six assists. He finished 9-of-11 from the field. Myles Turner tallied 22 and two late game-sealing blocks, while Domantas Sabonis added a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert finished with 16 and 15 apiece to round out the starters' finishes. In total, the starters scored 97 of the team’s 122 points.

“It means a lot,” Duarte said of his performance. “I’ve been working on my game. There’s been a lot of ups and downs. It felt good to go out there and do a good job.”

Trailing 4-0 early, the Pacers responded with 12 unanswered points to grab an eight-point edge after the first four minutes elapsed. After a series of three buckets in the paint, Brogdon tallied five straight to cap the spree with 7:50 remaining.

“I liked the way we hopped into the game with a physical presence,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We were physical without committing a lot of unnecessary fouls.”

The Knicks did threaten one time in the frame when the long ball started to fall. With Indiana ahead 17-8, RJ Barrett and Evan Fournier knocked in consecutive treys to cut the gap to three at the 5:36 mark. Barrett, who had recently struggled from deep, recorded seven triples last night in the Knicks’ win over the Spurs. They soon would cut the lead to 17-16.

However, playing with energy, Duarte found his spots and tallied seven of a 12-5 run over a 2:40 span to earn a 29-21 lead with 2:29 remaining. The Blue & Gold finished 14-of-22 (63.6 percent) from the floor in the quarter and took a 36-29 lead into the second.

“He’s doing great,” Sabonis said of Duarte’s progress. “He’s watching film. He’s listening. He’s learning, and trying to make the right reads.”

Indiana stretched its lead to 11 (40-29) before New York started climbing back. Finding success against the Pacers’ bench, the Knicks mounted an 8-2 run to trim the lead to 42-37 with 8:43 remaining. The run was capped by Obi Toppin’s stylish, between-the-legs dunk in transition that forced a quick Pacers timeout.

However, the Pacers countered swiftly, recording eight straight to push the lead to 50-37 with 6:53 to play. The spree was highlighted by Sabonis’ three-point play in which he surprised his defender by spinning to his weak side.

From there, the Blue & Gold maintained a comfortable lead for the next few minutes. Duarte added three more to his tally, while Sabonis kept fighting for extra possessions underneath. With 3:23 to play, he snagged his fourth offensive board of the half and knocked in a layup to give Indiana a 62-47 lead. The story remained the same for Indiana to close out the frame, extending its lead to as high as 17 before taking a 70-57 advantage into the half.

Indiana’s barrage continued as the third quarter began. Playing with an edge, the squad recorded the first 10 points in the frame to earn an 80-57 lead at the 9:22 mark. The spree was highlighted by Duarte’s layup off an incredible pass from LeVert near halfcourt.

However, the Knicks quickly retaliated with nine unanswered to cut the deficit to 14 with 7:34 to play.

Yet, the Pacers did not falter. Despite going cold, the Pacers’ speed forced the Knicks to rack up fouls. It pushed Indiana into the penalty near the midway mark of the frame. The Blue & Gold used several trips to the charity stripe to combat New York’s buckets. With 3:54 to play, Duarte broke Indiana’s 5:28 field goal drought with an easy finger-roll finish to push the lead to 90-71.

The Pacers continued their solid play to close out the frame. Jeremy Lamb earned a trip to the free-throw line and knocked in both attempts to stretch his consecutive made free-throw streak to 34 this season. The squad took a 96-76 lead into the fourth.

The Pacers held a comfortable lead over the early moments of the fourth. However, the Knicks showed a bit of a spark after Toppin slammed home consecutive transition buckets off Indiana turnovers to cut the lead to 102-85.

Later, a three from Toppin at the 6:25 mark trimmed Indiana’s lead to 106-91 and kept the Knicks within range of a comeback. But, the squad turned to its best rim protector to turn the tides for good.

On the next Knicks possession, Immanuel Quickley appeared to have a clear-cut layup until Turner smacked his attempt off the backboard and into the hands of Wanamaker. The veteran guard that’s seeing increased time due to McConnell’s injury finished with a finger-roll on the other end, pushing Indiana’s lead to 17.

Later, with 5:07 to play, Turner picked up another massive swat, this time on an attempted alley-oop, and Duarte collected the rebound. Duarte then found LeVert for the Pacers’ own alley-oop finish. Turner and Sabonis then knocked in back-to-back triples to fully shut the door on a comeback attempt.

Indiana won the rebounding battle, 42-36

The Pacers outscored the Knicks both in the paint (60-44) and in transition (26-16)

The Blue & Gold limited the mistakes tonight, committing just 11 turnovers – four in the first half

“It’s kind of the axiom of the NBA. It’s really more of a first-quarter league than a fourth-quarter league in many respects. Playing from in front is always a decisive advantage. So, if you can jump out to a lead and play with some separation, it always helps.” – Carlisle on how the first-quarter performance helped the Pacers win

“It was never the ability with Chris (Duarte). It was the learning the NBA, learning the landscape, and learning how he had to fit in. We threw him right into the fire. It’s not like he went to the G-League, or watched. He started right away. That’s been the best thing for him.” – Turner on how Duarte has improved this season

Indiana scored 70 points in the first half for the fifth time this season after shooting 27-of-45 (60 percent) from the field

The Pacers continue their six-game homestand on Friday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 PM ET, when Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks visit Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Find Tickets »