The Indiana Pacers started slowly before dominating the 2nd and 3rd quarters on their way to a (much too close) victory over the tanktastic New York Knicks. The Pacers secured a 4 game season sweep over the “rival” Knicks, and have now won the last 6 matchups between the two.
After letting a tanking Knicks team claim a double digit lead in the first, the Indiana Pacers ended the half on an 18-5 run and bridged that into a dominating 48-23 run to look comfortable heading into the 4th quarter. However, in the post Oladipo life for this Pacers team, no lead is ever safe.
When the going got tough, the Pacers again tightened up and forgot how to score. The blue and gold missed 10 straight shots, allowing New York to cut the lead all the way down, but did hang on to this very important game. Oladipo or no, the Pacers have to find a way to get points in the 4th quarter. 18 4th quarter points might be enough against the Knicks of the league, but not against the monster upcoming schedule of top tier playoff teams and road games galore.
Both teams are happy with this outcome
The Pacers desperately needed to win this game before facing a murderer’s row coming up. The Knicks are trying to stay on the road to Zion (Williamson). With New York trotting out almost exclusively very young players, G-League callups, and retread veterans (how lonely Deandre Jordan must be), New York is playing for the draft pick. The Pacers are in a dogfight as the 3-4-5 seeds in the East are separated by just 1.5 games, and both Boston and Philly face far easier schedules. Winning this game at home should be expected, but it’s still a very good – and very important – win.
Why can’t Myles Turner or Domas Sabonis shoot free throws anymore?
Turner shot 78% last year and is at 73% this year. Sabonis shot 75% last year and is at 72% this year. How did they combine to go 5-12 for the game? This is a trend that needs to be corrected, and soon. Turner’s 3-8 shooting is especially unacceptable.
Cory Joseph’s offensive struggles continue
CoJo will always earn his keep with defense and hustle plays. He’s a very good defender of point guards, a passable defender against shooting guards, and a constant spark plug with his outside of the box score contributions, but Joseph is struggling mightily at the wrong time. Joseph is now shooting 7-23 over the last 3 games. The Pacers don’t need him to be an offensive force, but he really hurts them when he’s not providing anything at all.
The Pacers next game features a visit from Paul George and the 4th place Oklahoma City Thunder, at 7:00 PM