The Knicks have twice missed opportunities in the previous ten days to push their record to the 500-point mark in unsightly losses to the Magic and Warriors.
They are apparently on their way to a new chance to improve their record and move up in the busy Eastern Conference on Saturday night. Tom Thibodeau’s emerging group stormed back from a 16-point deficit in the first half and switched to a fourth-place tie in the playoffs with a modest 110-107 victory over the Pacers at the Garden.
“We did not start the game well, it was fun, and we had to work our way through it,” Thibodeau said. ‘It’s a long game, but the most important thing was to just find a way to win at the end.
‘We had a lot of guys perform and make great plays. … We just scratched it out. ‘
RJ Barrett hampered two free throws with 14.6 seconds left, but stealing Derrick Rose and Frank Ntilikina’s two free throws with 2.9 seconds left sealed the Knicks’ sixth win in eight games as they improved to 17-17. They started 17-42 in particular last season and finished with 21 wins in 66 games.
The great man Taj Gibson suffered a sprained left ankle in the first quarter and did not return. The starting center Mitchell Robinson is already being dismantled after a hand operation.
Rose started in place of Elfrid Payton (thigh muscle) for a second consecutive game, scoring 17 points with 11 shots and five steals for the Knicks, who visited the worst Pistons (9-24) on Sunday night.
All Star forward Julius Randle also replenished the stats with 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, including two key-free in the last minute. Barrett scored 24 and Immanuel Quickley finished with 10 within 13 minutes – including his second four-point game in just as many games in the fourth quarter – while the Knicks took the season series (2-1) from Indiana.
Myles Turner’s three-pointer put the Pacers ahead 94-91 at 6:37, and his drive extended the lead to five with barely four minutes to go. But Barrett paired his fourth three-point pointer of the evening and then converted a traditional three-point game to regain the lead for the Knicks at the 3:32 mark.
Randle also passed from long range and Barrett added an inside kick for a 104-98 game with 2:22 ahead. The Pacers climbed back with the next five points, but Nerlens Noel sank two free throws after stealing eight points in a 41-minute season high.
Randle’s All-Star power forward Domantas Sabonis was held on 15 points for the Pacers, who played without point guard Malcolm Brogdon (knee) for the first time this season. Former Knicks Doug McDermott (20 points) and Justin Holiday (13) combined for 33 for Indiana (15-17).
To start the day, the teams were separated in fourth and tenth place in the East by one game, but the Knicks drew with the idle Raptors.
“It’s a long season and that’s what we need to understand,” Thibodeau said. ‘Every game is equally important. One match does not get more meaning than another. They all count the same. Wherever you end up, it can be the difference between many things. ”
The Knicks missed their first five shots and led Indiana 8-0, with Holiday hampering some early 3-pointers to encourage Thibodeau to call a quick timeout barely two minutes into the game.
The Knicks, who scored 77 points at halftime and an overall season of 140 in Thursday’s win over the Kings, trailed by 16 in the half. But their defense clinched a 24-6 run, which resulted in Rose’s straight try at the buzzer, with a 54-52 lead.
The sprint also features Quickley’s second 3-pointer of the half, two dunks from Randle and two more mid-range products by Barrett.
Barrett’s breakaway with four minutes left in the third, a free throw from Rose after a technical foul called by Pacers coach Nate Bjorkgren, and seven points from Randle, helped the Knicks to a 81-78 lead. runs in the last quarter.