The Pacers got the kind of Friday night finish that fits the NBA Cup stage perfectly: tight, tense, and decided on the final shot. Indianapolis saw the last two Eastern Conference champions go at it, and the Pacers came out on top, 106-104, over the Knicks.
It looked like Indiana had control when a 14-point cushion vanished and New York pulled even early in the fourth quarter. The Pacers answered with another surge to move back ahead by 12, but the Knicks weren’t done.
They chipped the margin down to two in the closing seconds, then got one last chance after a late Pacers turnover. Karl Anthony-Towns had the look to tie or win it, but his fade-away jumper missed, and the Pacers escaped with the win.
One of the biggest reasons Indiana held on was Andrew Nesmith finally finding his shot. He entered the night shooting just 37% from the field this season, but Friday brought a much-needed bounce-back.
Nesmith finished with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and went 2-of-3 from 3-point range. For a Pacers team that still needs to clean up its work from deep, getting him rolling matters.
The Pacers also backed up Rick Carlisle’s emphasis on defensive consistency. After Wednesday’s win over Washington, Carlisle pointed to his team holding the Wizards to 27 or fewer points in every quarter, saying, "That's a hard thing to do in today's NBA," On Friday, Indiana nearly repeated that formula.
New York topped 27 points in a quarter only once, in the third, and was held to 20 in the fourth. The Pacers also forced two 8-second violations and a late shot clock violation.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 19 points, and five Pacers finished in double figures. Ivica Zubac added his second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in 16. After a week that’s started to show some real signs of traction, a rivalry win like this gives the Pacers even more to build on.
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