Surging Knicks take down visiting Pacers

Julius Randle #30 of the New York Knicks celebrates after drawing the foul late in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 2021 in New York City. A limited number of fans are in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by ELSA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Julius Randle collected 28 points and 10 rebounds to lift the host New York Knicks to a 110-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Derrick Rose had 17 points and a season-high 11 assists for the Knicks, who overcame an early 16-point deficit to post their sixth win in eight games. The victory also snapped a four-game home losing skid to Indiana.

28 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST from @J30_RANDLE pushes the @nyknicks past IND at MSG! #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/5N4O5YBz5x

— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2021

Doug McDermott scored 20 points and T.J. McConnell added 17 points and 12 assists for the Pacers, who have lost eight of their last 11 games. McConnell drew his second start of the season in place of Malcolm Brogdon, who missed his first game of the campaign due to a sore right knee.

Barrett made a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to give New York a 99-98 lead with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter. The Knicks and Pacers traded short runs before Nerlens Noel and Randle each sank a pair of free throws to claim a 108-103 lead with 29.7 seconds left.

Domantas Sabonis banked home a 3-pointer to pull within two with 25 seconds left and Barrett missed both free throws at the other end of the court. Indiana’s bid to forge a tie was thwarted as Frank Ntilikina stole the ball and converted both free throws to seal the win.

McDermott scored nine quick points to begin the third to stake Indiana to a 65-64 lead with 7:28 remaining in the quarter. Randle answered with a personal run of his own, making three straight baskets for New York as the club entered the fourth with an 81-78 advantage.

Indiana scored 14 of the first 21 points in the second quarter to push its advantage to 46-30 before New York answered with a pronounced run of its own. Rookie Immanuel Quickley drained a 3-pointer, Barrett connected on two occasions from beyond the arc and Rose added one before the buzzer to lift the Knicks to a 54-52 lead at intermission.

New York’s Elfrid Payton sat out his second straight game due to a strained hamstring. Taj Gibson sustained an ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return.