Knicks tie series; Defeat Pacers 105-79

The New York Knicks jumped back into the series with a 105-79 win over the Indiana Pacers tonight.

From the start the Knicks seemed to have consistent defense and in the end that won them this game. Holding the Pacers to 13 points in the fourth quarter, the Knicks showed how dominant they could be. That defensive pressure would force 21 turnovers on the Pacers. The Knicks played will energy and the play of everyone tonight won this game.

Leading the way was Carmelo Anthony, who would have a consistent game in the second half. Anthony scored 32 points for the game and 22 points in the second half. Anthony shot 50% from the field, by far his best percentage game of this round. Anthony was a light’s out tonight and really was a leader tonight.

The hero tonight was Pablo Prigioni, who would score 10 points in the game. Prigioni scored the first five points for the Knicks in the fourth quarter. That would start a huge fourth quarter for the Knicks. His play has been much better towards the end of the season. Early in the season his role seemed to be undefined and he would have flashes of brilliance, but now he knows how to lead this group and tonight he did that.

Iman Shumpert continued his great play, scoring 15 points in 28 minutes of action. He was dominant in defending. Tonight he played his man the right way and never allowed his man to shoot three’s. This was his best game because he made the right plays. He drove to the basket and at one point put back a nasty put-back dunk. His energy and youth really helps this team. If he continues to play at this level, he will definitely help get the team wins.

The Knicks really did a great job in making adjustments for this game. They use multiple lineups tonight and that was the difference. The minutes were evenly distributed and guys really didn’t seem to tire tonight.

This performance by the Knicks tonight was really important. They lost game one, but tonight dominated to win game two. This was a really important game and they stepped up to tie the series.

The Knicks and Pacers will play on Sunday night as both teams look to take the series lead.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

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