Pacers 81, Knicks 76: Paul George collected 24 points and 11 rebounds and Ian Mahinmi scored 11 of his 13 in the fourth quarter as Indiana pulled away from short-handed New York to run its home win streak to nine games.
George also dished out five assists and fleeced six steals for Indiana, which has won three straight and 12 of 15. J.R. Smith scored a game-high 25 points off the bench and Tyson Chandler added 12 points and 15 rebounds for New York, which has lost two straight.
The Knicks were without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who served a one-game suspension for his attempts to confront Boston's Kevin Garnett after a home loss to the Celtics on Monday.
The Pacers showed why they are the best defensive team in the league, holding the Knicks to 34.8 percent from the field as New York went 4-for-20 from 3-point range.
Chandler's basket 20 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Knicks a 62-58 lead, but New York didn't score another field goal for more than seven minutes as Indiana reeled off a 13-0 run to take control.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Knicks F Marcus Camby re-injured his left foot in the second half and left the arena on crutches and in a walking boot. ... New York had its lowest offensive output of the season in a first quarter (14), first half (34) and game (76). … The Knicks lost for the first time this season when allowing less than 90 points, falling to 10-1 when doing so. … The Pacers haven't lost at home since Dec. 7. They are 14-3 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season and have won 48 of their last 66 regular-season games there.
New York | Indiana | |
JR Smith 25 | Scoring | Paul George 24 |
JR Smith 6 | Assists | Paul George 5 |
Tyson Chandler 15 | Rebounds | Paul George 11 |
JR Smith 4 | Free Throws Made | Tyler Hansbrough 4 |
Jason Kidd 1 | Steals | Paul George 6 |
Tyson Chandler 3 | Blocks | Roy Hibbert 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New York | 76 | 34.8 | 4-20 | 10-13 | 14 | 51 | 7 | 2 | 13 |
Indiana | 81 | 39.2 | 5-21 | 14-16 | 16 | 48 | 5 | 8 | 10 |