The Knicks looked like a team that was a little jet-lagged and weary from a long trip for most of the night. But they found their legs right about the time Carmelo Anthony nearly broke Thaddeus Young’s ankles.
Anthony’s crossover dribble on Young sent the Pacers’ forward to the Madison Square Garden floor in the third quarter. Anthony connected on the jumper, firing up the crowd, himself and the Knicks.
They were down 15 at the time, and got the spark they needed. The Knicks pulled away from Indiana and snapped a three-game losing skid with a 118-111 victory Tuesday night.
Anthony matched his season-high with 35 points to lead the Knicks (15-13). He had 26 in the second half. Anthony shot 13-for-25 overall, and was 7-for-11 on three-pointers.
Derrick Rose, making his return after a two-game absence with lower-back tightness, finished with 24 points. Eleven of them came in the fourth after the Knicks were down 99-91 with nine minutes to go. Kristaps Porzingis added 10 of his 21 points in the fourth.
Young and Myles Turner each scored 21 to lead Indiana (15-15)
This was the Knicks’ first game back after a five-game Western road trip in which they dropped the last three. They had two days off before playing Tuesday night while the Pacers were completing a back-to-back. Yet Indiana seemed to have the fresher legs until Anthony started to take the game over.
Anthony scored 11 points in the final 4:31 of the third to help the Knicks cut a 15-point deficit to 87-84 heading to the fourth. They finally took the lead, 103-101, on a Porzingis’ three-pointer with 6:51 left and Anthony on the bench.
Shortly after returning, Anthony took a feed from Joakim Noah (11 points, 11 rebounds) and drilled a three that made it 108-102 with 4:31 to go. After a Young three-pointer, Porzingis buried one from behind the arc and then Anthony drilled another three to put the Knicks up 114-105 with 2:57 remaining.
Jeff Hornacek almost predicted his team would have heavy legs. He said they looked run down in Monday’s practice, and was hoping they would find energy at some point.
“The first game back sometimes is an interesting game,” Hornacek said. “You see it all the time. We did have the extra day in there, which I think was good because we had such a goofy flight coming back in, home so early in the morning, even [Monday] at practice they looked a little tired.”
The Knicks started quickly jumping out to a 16-8 lead, but they looked sluggish and lethargic for a long stretch after that.
Indiana ended the first quarter on a 16-4 run and scored the first two baskets of the second to take a 28-20 lead, as former All-Star big man Al Jefferson turned the clock back a few years. Jefferson scored 10 of those points.
Jefferson dominated the Knicks in the post, scoring scored 14 of Indiana’s 18 points during a 4:05 span over the first and second quarters.
The Knicks showed a little life later in the second. They used a 17-5 run to take a 43-39 lead after a Courtney Lee three-pointer with 4:15 left in the half. But another lapse of energy and effort hurt the Knicks.
They allowed the Pacers to score 20 points in the last 4:05 of the second quarter. Indiana led 59-54 at halftime. The break in action didn’t immediately revive the Knicks.
The Pacers had livelier legs, and were quicker on both ends of the floor. They extended to 81-66 with 4:45 left in the third, when the Knicks finally took a stand.
With Anthony getting hot, the Knicks closed the third on an 18-6 run to get back in the game.
..... - Newsday