Woes Late In Games Continue For Young Knicks
There were a few can’t miss dress-ups and costumes on display at the Garden for Halloween night.
And also another Knicks loss.
The Indiana Pacers defeated the New York Knicks 107-100 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden as the Knicks dropped their sixth out of their last seven.
The New York Knicks (2-6) had no answers for Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis, who tied a career-high with 30 points on a perfect shooting night from the field.
Sabonis knocked down all 12 of his field goal attempts, with his only miss of the night coming from the charity stripe.
Indiana All-Star guard Victor Oladipo chipped in with 24 points, six rebounds, two steals and one block.
For the second time in three games, the New York Knicks could not close out a game on their home floor as they once again failed to do what good teams do.
The New York Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a 81-77, but stood by idle as Victor Oladipo charged the Pacers with 11 fourth quarter points as Indiana outscored New York 30-20 in the period.
Tim Hardaway Jr. did all he could to try to give the Knicks their first winning streak of the season as he scored 37 points, hitting seven 3-pointers on hot shooting night.
Noah Vonleh had a strong double-double showing with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Allonzo Trier would lead all Knicks off the bench with a efficient performance as he hit six of his seven field goal attempts to give him 14 points on the night.
Frank Ntilikina struggled with his shot (2-for-8 FG) on Wednesday night, but finished with seven assists in 33 minutes as he and Damyean Dotson (32 minutes) continued to outpace the bench in minutes.
The New York Knicks shot 48 percent from 3-point range while holding Indiana to 30 percent, but David Fizdale’s team was overpowered in the paint.
The Indiana Pacers outscored the New York Knicks 64-32 in the paint, a big reason why Indiana shot 54 percent on the night compared to 43 percent for New York.
David Fizdale could live with his team allowing Victor Oladipo to go for 30 points, but Domantas Sabonis?
Maybe if Sabonis took 40 shots while doing so, but on Wednesday, he needed just 12, and he hardly broke a sweat in his 21 minutes of action before fouling out with 1:17 left in the game.
A lack of defense in the paint has hurt the Knicks ability to hold leads or build on them in a number of their losses, and tonight was no different.
The New York Knicks will begin a two-game road trip with a matchup with the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center on Friday night as they look for their first road win.
What are your thoughts on the Knicks latest defeat? Leave your comments below!