After falling to the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, the New York Knicks turned around Saturday night ready to exact some revenge.
New York used some tenacious defense to build a five-point halftime lead, but in the final quarter, the Pacers came back with some clutch play to edge out the 92-86 win. Despite coming up on the wrong side of the result, coach Derek Fisher came away pleased with the effort his Knicks gave at Madison Square Garden.
“I saw grit. I saw effort. We just came up short,” Derek said. “I thought our guys did everything they could do in terms of effort and mindset to the game. They finished a little stronger than we did. In some ways, that’s to be expected, but I don’t think our guys gave up at all.”
Both squads were off to a slow start offensively, shooting just a combined 34.1 percent in the first quarter. Holding a slight edge on the offensive boards, the Pacers used seven second-chance points to take a 22-18 lead after 12 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Knicks found their offensive rhythm, and meanwhile, their defensive play only improved. New York held Indy to just 23.89 percent shooting and 16 points.
On the other end, the Knicks fed one of their most consistent performers of late, Andrea Bargnani, and the big man came through. The Italian veteran went 4-of-5 from the field for nine points, while Cleanthony Early and Alexey Shved combined for 10 to make it 43-38, Knicks, at the break.
“Defensively, in the first half, we were really good. We were really active,” Fish said. “I though we played well, we fought hard and we got through that half without foul trouble pretty good.”
After a superb second from New York, the third quarter was much like the first. The Knicks and Pacers combined to shoot just 36.6 percent, and the visitors shaved two points off the lead, making it 63-60 for the final frame.
Unfortunately, in addition to a slight lead, the Knicks carried some foul trouble into the final period. Bargnani and fellow forward Jason Smith each had four fouls, while reserve big man Cole Aldrich tallied three—leaving the frontcourt thin against a tough Indy interior, led by Roy Hibbert.
This dynamic allowed the Indiana offense to flow freely and post by far its best quarter of the night, shooting 66.7 percent from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The Pacers took the lead at the 6:35 mark off a long three by C.J. Watson and just kept attacking offensively. New York kept battling and kept it close until the final bell, but Indy did what it need to seal the win late, going 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
“In a tight ballgame, the more experienced team, they were able to make a few more plays and get a few more possessions to go their way,” D-Fish explained. “We’ll just continue to work at finishing better with the group we have. I think they really did play to win this game, there as no fear in the competition, and that was great to see.”
New York was paced by 21 points off 10-of-14 shooting by Bargnani, and Alexey Shved and Shane Larkin were the only two other Knicks in double figures, tallying 15 and 11 respectively.
Starting guards Langston Galloway and Tim Hardaway Jr. were quiet on the night. Galloway was just 1-of-2 shooting for five points, while Hardaway struggled with his stroke all night, going 0-of-9 from the field and 0-for-4 from deep.
“It didn’t look like he got a lot of really good looks,” Fish said of Hardaway’s off night. “They’re a good defensive team, so you see we didn’t shoot a great percentage overall as a group. For Tim, shooting wise, it was just one of those nights that was a little funky. His back tightened up on him at halftime, and so I think he struggled to get himself going in the second half.”
With their lead guards off kilter, the Knicks shot 38.5 percent as a team, 20 percent from three-point range and 76.7 percent from the free-throw line. Afterward, Derek was asked about the status of guard Jose Calderon, who is out indefinitely with an Achilles injury. The Knicks coach didn’t have any updates as to when Calderon might return, but he explained how this is exactly the type of night where New York needed his services.
“Games like tonight, that’s why we like to have Jose on our roster,” Coach Fish said. “He’s a 90 percent free-throw shooter, he’s a 40 percent three-point shooter, he makes good decisions with the basketball. We’ll follow his recovery and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”
NEXT UP
The Knicks (12-49) will now head West for a five-game Western Conference road trip, starting Monday night against the Denver Nuggets (22-41).
New York claimed a 109-92 win over Denver in the first meeting this season, guided by 28 points each from Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith in November.
The Nuggets neared .500 in mid-January, but they’ve been skidding ever since, winning just four times in their last 25 games. They’ve lost two straight, falling to the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET from Denver’s Pepsi Center.
RELATED LINKS
- Fisher on loss to Pacers: Knicks played well & fought hard (MSG, March 7, 2015)
- Pacers win fifth in a row, beat Knicks (AP, March 7, 2015)
- Pacers at Knicks: Game Book (NBA.com, March 7, 2015)
- Fisher expects NYK to be different next year (ESPN NY, March 6, 2015)
- Knicks find another way to lose (NY Post, March 7, 2015)
- Paul George eyes return as Pacers beat Knicks (NY Daily News, March 7, 2015)
- Andrea Bargnani cheered in Knicks loss (NY Times, March 7, 2015)
- As Knicks losses mount, Bargnani plays well (Newsday, March 7, 2015)