First Thoughts: New York 85, Indiana 75
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Let’s take a quick look at how the Indiana Pacers stumbled their way to an 85-75 loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference second-round series. The Pacers now lead the series 3-2.
WHY IT HAPPENED: With George Hill sidelined because of a concussion sustained in Game 4, the Pacers flopped in their first chance to clinch this series. New York didn’t even play well. Because of 19 turnovers, 14 missed free throws and 36 percent shooting by the Pacers, the Knicks didn’t need to. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 28 points and six rebounds on 12-of-28 shooting. J.R. Smith got going a little, adding 13 off the bench. Coach Mike Woodson went back to his smaller starting lineup and made one other change that worked like a charm: inserting Chris Copeland into the rotation. The long-haired forward finished with 13 points off the bench and drained three 3-pointers. The Knicks played close to even on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 43-40, and shot much better than they had in Indiana in hitting 41 percent of their shots. The Pacers will regret a missed opportunity. This game was there for the taking. David West had 17 points and 10 rebounds but did not score in the fourth quarter. Paul George tried to single-handedly bring the Pacers back from an 11-point deficit, scoring 18 of his 23 points in the second half, but Roy Hibbert (nine points) and Lance Stephenson (four ) did not offer enough support. The Knicks live to fight another day.
WHAT WE LEARNED: The Pacers have now turned the ball over 89 times in five games. Absurd. Ridiculous. And unacceptable. George has been charged with 25 of those mistakes. If Indiana does not find a way to hang onto the ball and execute plays, the pressing, trapping and swarming defense of the Miami Heat will eat them alive in the next round. D.J. Augustin did a halfway decent job of filling in for Hill. He scored 12 points, his third game of the series in double figures. But Augustin did not handle the rock as often as he should have. There’s no reason Gerald Green, who entered cold off the bench in the second half because the Pacers needed offense, should be throwing entry passes. He tossed away two doozies trying to feed Hibbert down low. The Pacers must play smarter. Frankly, their effort was embarrassing and this was a game they should have won. However, it’s still virtually impossible to imagine the Pacers losing this series because Indiana accomplished its secondary goal — to prevent New York from finding its brilliant offensive form. The Knicks are nowhere close, so expect them to bow out on Saturday. But the work for the blue and gold is only beginning, and it starts and ends with ballhandling.
KEY NUMBER: The Pacers went 19-of-33 from the foul line (57.6 percent) in one of their worst performances in the franchise’s playoff history. They also committed turnovers on 22.4 percent of their possessions. For context, the worst team in the regular season (Houston) turned the ball over 14.9 percent of the time.
TURNING POINT: After a long 3 by George pulled the Pacers to 75-71 midway through the fourth quarter, the Knicks responded with an 8-2 run that provided enough of a safety net to cruise home. Anthony scored six points in the spurt.
NEXT: The Pacers take another crack at closing out the series in Game 6 on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where they are undefeated in these playoffs (5-0).
