Pacers blow out Knicks to take 3-1 series lead

Home > Sports > Football

print dictionary print

Pacers blow out Knicks to take 3-1 series lead

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers finally figured it out.

When given the chance to take command of a playoff series, they can’t give it back. On Tuesday night, they didn’t.

George Hill scored 26 points and Paul George had 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, leading the Pacers past the New York Knicks, 93-82, and to within one win of their first conference finals appearance since 2004.

“We wanted it,” George said. “For us to come out with that edge, still, after being up 2-1 and being on our floor for Game 4, for us to be up and ready and have an edge to play, it just speaks to how focused we are right now.”

It was a far cry from what Indiana experienced a week ago in New York. Or last year at home against Miami.

Last week, the Knicks rallied from a Game 1 loss, using a 30-2 run to blow out Indiana at Madison Square Garden and even the series.

A year ago, the Pacers held a 2-1 lead over Miami but gave away Game 4 and never won again. Miami went on to win the NBA crown.

So the Pacers went into Tuesday night determined not let it happen again, certainly not with former stars Reggie Miller and Rik Smits in the house watching their old team hand it to their old rivals.

“I just think that our focus has been better than it was,” Indiana’s David West said. “We might have surprised ourselves going in there and getting Game 1. Naturally, we may have had a little letdown, but we talked about maintaining our home court and our focus in these two games and we were able to accomplish that. Our next goal is to compete hard with an opportunity for a close-out game in a tough environment.”

The Pacers were strong defensively again, had another big rebounding advantage (54-36) and never really let the Knicks challenge them in the second half. They can wrap up the series Thursday night in New York.

Desperate New York tried everything to change the script. Nothing worked.

Kenyon Martin played 29 minutes and J.R. Smith logged 31 despite missing practice Sunday and Monday because they were ill.

NBA scoring champion Carmelo Anthony finished with 24 points before fouling out with 2 minutes left in the game.

He took only four shots in the fourth quarter and was held without a basket over the final 12 minutes for the second straight game.

Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Tony Parker had 25 points and 10 assists, and the San Antonio Spurs held the Golden State Warriors’ starting backcourt to 13 points for a 109-91 victory Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Kawhi Leonard added 17 points, Danny Green scored 16 and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Harrison Barnes scored 25 points, Jarrett Jack added 20 and Carl Landry 16 for Golden State. No other Warriors player had more than nine points.

The Spurs held Mark Jackson’s self-proclaimed “greatest shooting backcourt” in NBA history to 6-for-22 shooting.

Stephen Curry finished with nine points, going 1 for 7 on 3-pointers, and Klay Thompson was held to four while not even attempting a 3.

AP
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)