New York Knicks Offensive Woes Continue In Loss vs. Indiana Pacers
The New York Knicks were unable to get their offense going against the Indiana Pacers without Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, losing 92-87.
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The New York Knicks had a strong night against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, but were unable to carry any momentum over to tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers. Against the Pacers, who are fighting for their playoff lives, the Knicks were unable to get much of anything going, as the Pacers left Madison Square Garden Sunday night with a 92-87 victory.
The Knicks offense was nowhere to be found tonight, as they struggled throughout the evening from the floor. It did not help that they were without their top two scorers in Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Anthony was sitting the game out for rest, while Porzingis is nursing a shoulder injury that occurred when he blocked a dunk attempt of Alonzo Gee of the New Orleans Pelicans last week.
Without those two players, the Knicks struggled mightily to score. Sasha Vujacic led the way for the Knicks, pouring in 21 points as he had a strong night from deep, going 5-of-9. Derrick Williams and Robin Lopez also broke double-figures, scoring 12 and 10 respectively, but did it on a combined 10-of-29 from the field. Lopez did have a strong game overall though, as he pulled down 15 rebounds to give him 14 double-doubles on the season to go with six blocks.
Jerian Grant, making his second career start, didn’t stuff the stat sheet as he did against the Nets, but the Knicks played well when he was on the court. He led the way with a plus/minus ratio of +10, the best mark on the night for the team.
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Like the starting unit, the bench group also struggled for the Knicks tonight. Arron Afflalo led the way with 15 points, but needed 15 shots to get there. He also pulled down eight rebounds with two assists, one steal and one block. Every player on the bench finished with a negative plus/minus ratio as well, except Kevin Seraphin who finished +1.
The Knicks finished the game with an abysmal shooting percentage of 34.4 percent. Things were not much better from deep, as the Knicks made only 25 percent of their three-point attempts on the night. The Knicks even struggled at the foul line more than usual, making only 70 percent of their free throws.
For the Pacers, Paul George led the way. He finished the game with 20 points, adding nine rebounds. They had six players in total break double-digits, including three players off the bench; Myles Turner, Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles. Joining George in the starting lineup with at least 10 points was Ian Mahinmi and George Hill.
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The Knicks will be back on the court Wednesday night when they host the Charlotte Hornets in the second to last home game of the season.