Pacers 132, Knicks 121: “Ran out of gas with a 6 man rotation, hope we get reinforcements soon.”

Haliburton and Mathurin combine for 73 points and Indiana’s 40 fourth-quarter points bury the Knicks late.

When the two teams first faced off, back on October 25, the New York Knicks (4-5) gave the Indiana Pacers (5-5) a thorough beating and limited Tyrese Haliburton to a goose egg. Tonight, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton and the Hoosiers got their revenge.

The short-handed Pacers started strong, winning a tightly contested first quarter, 29-26. OG Anunoby’s 19 first-half points helped the Knicks secure a 61-58 lead at halftime despite a scoring bonanza by Bennedict Mathurin. In the second half, the Knicks played well enough but traded two-pointers for Indiana’s threes. The score seesawed into the fourth quarter. In the final frame, a barrage of triples from Mathurin, Haliburton, and Myles Turner, and a total of 40 Pacers points, buried the short-handed Knicks, 132-121.

With 38 points, Mathurin set a new personal career high while shooting 11-of-18 and grabbing eight rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton followed suit with 35 points and 14 assists. And Myles Turner was a marksman down the stretch and collected 26 points, hitting 5-of-8 from deep.

The Pacers hit eight three-pointers in the fourth quarter. New York made seven for the game (and missed 18). The Knicks shot 55% from the field, but three remains greater than two. Jalen Brunson played well, with 33 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds in 40 minutes while shooting 11-of-17 from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and nine boards in his 38 minutes. OG Anunoby scored 25 points and fell one short of his regular-season record with the Knicks. He hit 3-of-4 from deep. Josh Hart logged a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, and added six assists. Mikal Bridges squeaked out eight points, missing all six of his three-pointers.

From the bench, Miles McBride contributed seven points in his 29 minutes. Tyler Kolek and Jericho Sims combined for 11 minutes and two points. Not a lot of mystery to this loss, folks.

First Half

Despite missing key rotational players Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Obi Toppin, Indiana started strong. Both teams made five of their first eight shots. OG Anunoby was a defensive dynamo and easily racked up seven points against the porous Pacers (he had 19 at the half).

Although Anunoby and the Knicks grabbed an early four-point lead, their offense cooled, and they fell behind by five midway through Q1. Miles McBride and Jericho Sims subbed in to join Jalen Brunson, Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges, sparking a 6-0 run to regain the lead. The game seesawed from there. The Knicks struggled from deep, missing four of five three-point attempts, while the Pacers hit 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. By the buzzer, New York trailed 29-26.

New York started the second quarter with a 10-4 run, powered by more buckets from OG Anunoby. Our heroes were finally winning the points in the paint battle (30-20 for the half), but misses and turnovers allowed the home team to keep up. Third-year man Bennedict Mathurin carried the Pacers for a stretch, having his own 8-3 run with two free throws and three-pointers, tallying 21 first-half points. Following his lead, Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton got into the mix, scoring 15 and 14 first-half points, respectively.

Outscoring the hosts by six points in the quarter, New York held a 61-58 lead at intermission. They had outshot the Pacers from the field, 57% to 45%, but Indy’s three-pointers (9-of-23) and fast-break points (13) kept them close.

Jalen Brunson had shot 6-of-8 for the half, all but one from within the arc. And he’s starting to gel with KAT, e.g.:

Second Half

By four minutes into the half, Karl-Anthony Towns had led the Knicks on a 14-7 run for a 10-point lead. With his four fellow starters in double figures, Mikal Bridges had a quiet start but scored on consecutive buckets to reach eight points. New York missed their first five second-half three-pointers, and Indiana would not go gently into that good night. Two three-pointers by Jarace Walker (drafted eighth in 2023) capped a 16-4 run that erased New York’s lead.

Neither team wanted to surrender. Fighting back, the Knicks outscored the Pacers by four to finish the quarter up again, 94-92. Here Josh Hart does Josh Hart things.

With Mathurin and Haliburton feeling their oats in the final frame and the Knicks lagging a little, Indiana seized a seven-point lead, their largest of the night. The referees began to whistle with more frequency. Coach Tom Thibodeau had played a rotation of mostly six Knicks, and the intensity of the gameplay wore his soldiers down. When Karl-Anthony Towns gave him too much room, Myles Turner swished back-to-back triples like ice daggers to the heart.

Mathurin rejected a Miles McBride drive with four and a half minutes remaining, then jammed an offensive rebound home on the other end, and New York’s likelihood of victory reached its lowest point. It only got worse when KAT and Brunson missed free throws and Ben Sheppard laced a corner three. When Haliburton hit from deep and pranced around like a fool, New York had tumbled down a 10-point hole, having missed all but one of their second-half three-pointers. The deficit hit 14 and brought down the curtain with barely a minute left.

Notes

• Their 46 three-point attempts were the most by Indiana this season (previous high was 38).
• OG Anunoby has recorded at least one steal in all nine games this season. Tonight he had two.
• Recently, T.J. McConnell moved into sixth place in Pacers NBA franchise history for career assists. He needs 23 assists to pass Travis Best (1,785).
• Myles Turner reached the 8,000 career-point mark this week. He’ll soon pass Paul George (8,090), taking over eighth place for most points scored in Pacers NBA franchise history. Turner now ranks fifth among all active NBA players in career blocks and is on pace to move into the NBA’s top 50 all-time this season.
• We cannot confirm or deny rumors that Tyrese Haliburton is a lizard disguised as a humanoid.
• Entering the game, Miles McBride had logged a double-digit plus-minus for four straight games. Fighting an illness, he was a -5 tonight.
• With tonight’s tally, Bennedict Mathurin has scored 20+ points in five of ten games this season. He achieved that feat in 12 out of 59 games last season. Nice to see him blossoming.
• Karl-Anthony Towns fell just short of a double-double, breaking his streak of seven straight.

Up Next

Quoth Jaybugkit: “Ran out of gas with a 6 man rotation, hope we get reinforcements soon.” Ditto that. The Knicks trek to Philadelphia for Tuesday’s tilt with the 76ers. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

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