Knicks knock off Pacers for third win in four games
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JANUARY 02: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers and Austin Rivers #9 of the New York Knicks battle for a loose ball during the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on January 02, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP
Austin Rivers hit a 3-pointer that gave the New York Knicks the lead for good late in the fourth quarter Saturday night and added the clinching layup with 35.3 seconds remaining as the visiting Knicks surprised the Indiana Pacers, 106-102.
Rivers, who played his second game for the Knicks after missing the first four games due to a groin injury, scored 15 points off the bench for New York, which has won three of four.
RJ Barrett scored a team-high 25 points and was 4-of-5 on 3-point attempts after entering the game with 21 straight misses from beyond the arc over his previous four games. The Knicks hit 44.4 percent (12-of-27) of their 3-pointers Saturday, two nights after shooting a franchise record-low 8.3 percent (3-of-36) from the 3-point line.
Julius Randle finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Elfrid Payton had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Mitchell Robinson went of 8-of-10 shooting and netted 16 points.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 33 points for the Pacers, who have lost two of three. Domantas Sabonis (13 points, 13 rebounds) had his sixth double-double in as many games to start the season, while Myles Turner scored 17 points. Victor Oladipo finished with 16 points, and Justin Holiday added 12 points off the bench.
An uneventful first half in which neither team led by more than six points and the Pacers led 51-50 at intermission yielded a wild and entertaining final 24 minutes.
The Knicks took their biggest lead at 66-56 by opening the period with a 16-5 run that ended with Reggie Bullock draining a 3-pointer. The Pacers responded by scoring the next eight points, including five by Turner, to begin a quarter-ending 26-16 surge that concluded with Holiday hitting a game-tying 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
The Pacers took their biggest second-half lead with a 9-1 run in which Sabonis hit a layup to put Indiana ahead 96-93 with 4:29 left. But the Knicks scored the next nine points, including Rivers’ go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:23 left and a steal and dunk by Randle that extended New York’s lead to 100-96 with 1:32 remaining.
Oladipo and Rivers then traded errant 3-pointers before Robinson blocked a 3-pointer by Brogdon. Rivers hit a fast break layup and Barrett iced the win by sinking four free throws.
–Field Level Media
