Going into tonight’s game, the New York Knicks were supposed to be a team in turmoil; a team that recently fired its head coach is not supposed to come out and play like they did tonight against the Indiana Pacers.
From the beginning, the New York Knicks punched the Indiana Pacers in the mouth and never looked back at Madison Square Garden.
One team looked motivated, one team looked like it could care less. Usually, teams show up to play at Madison Square Garden, but the Indiana Pacers clearly had something else on their mind. The good ball movement that was present against the Philadelphia 76ers did not make the flight from Indianapolis.
When the ball movement was not there, the Pacers struggle. In the first game of back-to-back games against the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers lost to the Knicks 115-100.
Numbers Breakdown
Only one starter was in double figures for the Pacers; Darren Collison had 15 points, four blocks, and four assists. Honestly, I have no clue why Collison had so many points, as it was a relatively quiet night for him. When Granger gives other teams inspiration, he generally fails to show up for the game. He did that again tonight, finishing with nine points on a stellar four for 15 shooting night. Roy Hibbert continued his Post All-Star Break slump and shot two for ten for four points and three rebounds. He probably could have brought down more rebounds, but instead he tipped them out to the Knicks for fast break opportunities. Several bench players scored in double figures, but most of their points came in mop up time.
Who didn’t score in double figures for the Knicks? Tyson Chandler led their starters with 16 points and seven rebounds, Jeremy Lin had 13 points and five assists, and Carmelo Anthony had 12 points. Steve Novak went four for eight from the field, all attempts being three pointers for 12 points. The Pacers might want to take notes that he can shoot from behind the arc. J.R. Smith, who was recently picked up from China had 16 points off the bench.
Quarter by Quarter Breakdown
1st Quarter:
The Knicks pounced on the Pacers from the beginning and never looked back. A slow start by the Pacers, coupled with poor ball movement led to two of 11 shooting for the Pacers. The Knicks jumped out to a double-digit lead early and never looked back. George Hill was able to cut it to eight near the end of the quarter, but Baron Davis was able to answer on a buzzer beater that probably should have been called for traveling to put them back up 10. After a quarter of play, the Knicks lead 24-14.
2nd Quarter:
Darren Collison led the charge for the Pacers in the second quarter with seven points, but there just wasn’t enough effort from the Pacers, and the Knicks continued to answer whatever run the Pacers tried to string together. The Pacers got killed on the glass, giving up eight offensive rebounds to the Knicks in the quarter. While the Pacers continued their poor shooting, going 31.7% from the field, the Knicks knocked down 50% of their shots to increase the lead to 50-31.
3rd Quarter:
The lead just kept increasing for the Knicks in the 3rd quarter. Steve Novak and J.R. Smith had nine points off the bench for New York in the quarter. The Pacers didn’t show any signs of motivation, as Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler were taking David West and Roy Hibbert off the dribble for uncontested dunks. Stoudemire and Chandler are just too athletic for the Pacers' big men and it really showed on back-to-back plays. At one point, the Madison Square Garden crowd was chanting "Novak-Novak-Novak" as Steve Novak was on fire knocking down open three pointers. I am not sure if he was omitted from the scouting report, but Novak can certainly knock down the three pointer with ease. After 3 quarters it was 88-58.
4th Quarter:
It was 88-58 to end the 3rd quarter. At this point, I was losing interest in the game and flipping back and forth with NCAA games. Tyler Hansbrough did add 10 points in mop up play, a situation he really brings his A game in. If only he could score in important game situations. Frank Vogel pretty much called it a night for the Pacers in the 4th. Collison, Hibbert, and West saw no action in the 4th quarter, while Granger and George played 4:06.
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