Pacers put on real show in win over Knicks

The Pacers defeated the hated New York Knicks Thursday night 117-89. The Pacers are 31-7 on the season while the Knicks are 15-24.
The Big Plays
The Pacers took control of this one in the second quarter. The Knicks came out strong and like many opponents at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season, tried to make an early statement and built a 16-8 lead. But the Pacers had caught up, and led briefly by the end of the quarter, when the Knicks led 31-30. And from that point on the Pacers simply dominated, building the lead to 83-59 at the 4:37 mark of the third quarter. That's a 53-28 spread for those of you like me who may not be quick at math. By that point, the Pacers' Paul George had 25 points and Lance Stephenson 20.
The Ups
1) We'll get to George and Stephenson, but a lot of the credit for this victory should go to big men David West and Roy Hibbert for a sequence of plays that occurred midway in the second quarter that helped the Pacers take control for good. First, it was Hibbert who dove on the floor near halfcourt to keep the ball alive and he tapped it to a wide open West who had an uncontested path to the basket. But West showed why he is one of the real leaders on this team when he passed the ball to Stephenson to let him have the easy two points. And again, on the next Pacers' possession, West, recognizing that Hibbert had just dove on the floor for the ball, rewarded the center with a pass in the middle where Hibbert got fouled. And finally later in the quarter, Hibbert blocked the ball on a strong move by Anthony to put an exclamation point on the entire quarter. None of this is big box score stuff really. Just winning stuff. Just a prime example why the Pacers have the best record in the league.

Lance Stephenson made another bid to be picked for the All-Star game
by scoring 28 points in Thursday's win over the Knicks.

2) Stephenson and George have been key components to the Pacers success all season, but they were special on this night. George scored 10 of his 25 points in the third quarter, including the dagger 3-pointer to put the Pacers up by 22 with 7:20 left in the third and for all intents and purposes put this one away. Stephenson was having his usual fun on the court right from the get go and finished with a career-high 28 points. But maybe his most entertaining, or bizarre play, came in the third quarter, too. He was off balance when he corralled an almost errant pass at halfcourt. Still looking a bit out of control, he dribbled behind his back, continued forward, then dribbled between his legs before meeting some resistance, then did a spin move to avoid the defense and then whipped a pass to an open George under the basket for the layup. Quite the play by the player called Born Ready and that highlight just may get him a much deserved spot on the All-Star team.
3) A lot of the pre-game TV talk centered around the Pacers and what they need to work on in order to reach NBA Finals and win the title. One of the consistent topics that came up was turnovers and it is a legitimate point. But on this night, the Pacers took care of the ball quite well, with just five turnovers and it's true when that happens, they are basically unbeatable.
The Downs
1) When watching the Knicks, you can't help but feel a bit sorry for Indianapolis native and head coach Mike Woodson. He has to deal with a lot of personalities on the team (see J.R. Smith as exhibit A), and a team that just can't commit itself to play defense for all four quarters of a game every night. And you know he probably stood on the sidelines Thursday night and wondered why his team couldn't be a little more like the Pacers. But even with the Woodson factor here, Pacers fans always thoroughly enjoy watching their team stomp the Knicks.
Afterthoughts
This is what happens when the Pacers have a reasonable amount of rest and are at home. They are just one difficult team not only to beat, but to compete with as well. The Knicks Thursday night, and the Kings Tuesday night had been playing well for the most part before coming to Indianapolis. The Knicks having won 5 of 6 and the Kings three straight. But neither team was competitive against the Pacers. What it means is that if you want to the beat the Pacers, especially in Indianapolis, you have to be prepared to not only come in and play hard, but you have to play well, too. And there's just not that many teams in the NBA who can come up with that combination on the road against Indy, which is now 20-1 at home this season.
Next Up
The Pacers play host to the visiting Los Angeles Clippers in a 7 p.m. game Saturday on NBA TV. The Clippers are 23-17 and are at the Knicks Friday night. The Clippers have title aspirations and even though they are without point guard Chris Paul, who is expected to be out until around the all-star break on Feb. 16 with a right shoulder separation. Paul had been averaging over 19 points and 11 assists per game. The Clippers however, did recently get shooting guard J.J. Redick back and he had a career-high 33 points in their Wednesday night victory against Dallas. Redick and reserve Jamal Crawford each average over 16 points a game. The Clippers are also led by Blake Griffin at 22 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. And filling in for Paul at point guard has been former Pacers starter Darren Collison, who is averaging 9.5 and 2.7 assists. Collison has scored in double figures and had four or more assists in six straight games. The Clippers also have center DeAndre Jordan who is averaging 9.5 points and 13.4 rebounds. The Pacers did win the first matchup of the season in Los Angeles with a 105-100 victory, where they were led by George with 27 points, West with 24 and Hibbert with 19.