Indiana Pacers: 3 takeaways from statement win against the New York Knicks

Facing one of their toughest challenges to date, the Indiana Pacers managed to score a statement win against the rejuvenated New York Knicks last night, improving to 3-6 in the season. Their first win streak of the campaign comes at a perfect time, giving the team momentum before they embark on a Western Conference road trip .

With Malcolm Brogdon back in the lineup and the Indiana Pacers bannering four out of five projected starters, the team led throughout the game, never squandering the lead after a red-hot first quarter despite the Knicks flirting with a toe-to-toe contest before the Blue and Gold made a big run in the fourth frame to seal the victory.

Myles Turner led the way for the Pacers, finishing with a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds. Caris LeVert, in his third game of the season, added 21 markers, while Brogdon hardly missed a beat, tallying 17 points, eight boards, and seven assists.

For the third time in four contests, the Pacers managed to limit their opponents below the century mark, limiting New York to 41.4 percent shooting overall, including a putrid 20.8 percent from downtown. On the other hand, Indiana played a relatively good offensive outing, shooting 46.2 percent overall, including 39 percent on threes.

As the Indiana Pacers set out on a road trip for four straight interconference matchups, here are three takeaways from their big win against the New York Knicks.

Myles Turner proved that he can be the alpha guy for the Indiana Pacers, even on offense

Again, what a way to silence the haters.

Amidst the fresh narratives of returning injured players for the Indiana Pacers, as well as the New York Knicks’ inherent glimmer and headline-grabbing names, it was Myles Turner who shone the brightest.

Swishing a career-high seven three-pointers en route to 25 points, Turner punished the big men of New York for consistently sagging off of him. Off to a good rhythm after a red-hot first quarter, Myles continued to exploit the Knicks on the perimeter, knocking down two huge triples in the fourth frame to effectively quash their chances at mounting a comeback.

Though his recent struggles may suggest otherwise, through nine games, Turner is logging career-highs in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage despite averaging his lowest minutes per outing since his rookie year.

It is too farfetched to think that Myles can shoot like this consistently, but the elephant in the room is that he seems to be well-settled in his role as one of the league’s better stretch-fives and rim deterrents. No, Turner may not reach some people’s needlessly lofty standards, but he’s certainly proved a lot of them wrong, and the numbers agree with me.

The Indiana Pacers are making big strides as a defensive unit

No one probably expected Domantas Sabonis‘ picture to be spreadeagled in a post about defense, right?

Still, the Indiana Pacers played that well on defense against the New York Knicks that Domas, normally a so-so defender at best, deserves a shoutout. While the All-Star didn’t end up with another mind-boggling stat line, his defensive engagement, a very welcome gift, may be a sign that the Blue and Gold is starting to figure it out defensively.

Coming in the game, New York sported the fourth-best offensive rating in the league, and ranked fourth and first on three-point accuracy  and made triples per game, respectively. After the game? the Knicks finished with 98 points, sinking only five out of 24 tries from downtown, a massive drop-off from their previous average of 16.6 makes per outing.

Another interjection? Julius Randle, Kemba Walker, and Evan Fournier, three of their top scorers, combined for 36 points. This was easily the most consistent that the Pacers have been defensively for an entire 48 minutes.

While Indiana is still 23rd in defensive rating, their recent string of games are good indications that they are starting to make big strides as a point preventing squad. If they can maximize their potential on that end, then their record can expect a turnaround sooner than later.

Better health—and better chances—could be within reach for the Indiana Pacers

Seems like having a healthier squad gives you a better shot at winning games, huh.

With the Indiana Pacers kicking off a contest with an almost healthy squad, with four out of five projected starters playing, the team garnered much better results. Coincidence? Yeah, says the madman.

For the first time this season, the Pacers got a good look at their starting backcourt of Caris LeVert and Malcolm Brogdon. Both players ended the game with eye-popping numbers, despite commonly going through significant rust.

For Indiana, which has gotten so used at adapting by overtaxing their players, having a healthier squad is a massive step forward. LeVert, for example, allows the Pacers to streamline Brogdon’s massive load on offense, while giving the team a lot more unpredictability on the floor with his creative shot creation and secondary playmaking.

The Pacers will have to adapt on the fly as they banner healthy bodies, but touting a plethora of great players is pretty good problem to have. I’m not going deeper than that, in hopes of mitigating the persistent jinx, but hey, how’s this to end this article?

Sayonara, bad luck—hopefully, for good.