Indiana Pacers Get Blown Out

May 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) takes a shot over New York Knicks small forward Chris Copeland (14) during the first half in game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers burst out of the gate shooting over %50 from the field. Seemingly a great start however they also had seven turnovers and for several minutes no one except Paul George and George Hill hit anything. The Pacers have been a strong team that used all of it’s players and they didn’t start the game that way. They didn’t start playing their style and the score reflected it. At the end of the first quarter they were down by nine.

Throughout the rest of the half the Indiana Pacers had moments where they looked like they were getting poised to get back into the game. The control seemed to lean towards the Pacers side a few times but they never could get command of the game. They couldn’t seem to get all of their players playing with a consistent level of intensity. The New York Knicks on the other hand were coming at them full speed. At the end of the first half the Indiana Pacers still hadn’t found their rhythm as a team and they hadn’t been able to stop New York. They had 12 turnovers compared to New Yorks 3. They were being outplayed. The good news was that as bad as the game was going for the Pacers, they were only losing by five, losing 47-42.

Going into the second half Indiana knew they would have to play a different game. They would have to play more as a team, quit turning the ball over and outplay New York. The New York Knicks showed during the first game that if you outplay them they get frustrated and will beat themselves. The Pacers were more than capable of making that happen. The question remained, would they?

The Pacers came out playing the type of basketball that got them to the playoffs to begin with. They outplayed New York and took their first lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. The game began resembling a boxing match with each team trading punches. Neither one quite strong enough to knock the other out.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around it appeared that the New York Knicks had all but knocked out the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were on the ropes not able to land a punch. The New York Knicks went on a 30-2 run completely taking the wind out of every single player on the Pacers. They were never able to recover and the New York Knicks ripped away any hope of victory for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers limped off of the court with the final score 105-79. The Pacers were out rebounded and gave up a crippling 21 turnovers. Not good enough for a playoff caliber team.