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One day after officially announcing the hiring of Phil Jackson as team president, the Knicks looked to continue their winning streak which stood at six games. There was a different atmosphere at the World’s Most Famous Arena and it was no coincidence with Jackson being in attendance for the first time under his new role. The sold out crowd displayed their appreciation for one of their own following a timeout, showering Phil with a standing ovation reserved for a Messiah after being introduced to the sold out crowd of 19,812.
Mike Woodson’s decision to insert Amar’e Stoudemire back into the starting rotation has paid off immediately as it provides New York the ability to run their offense through Stoudemire both in the low post plus in the pick & roll. Now teams cannot simply focus all of their attention defensively on Anthony with Stoudemire averaging 17.5 points on 60% shooting during the month of March.
Indiana was limited to a mere 14 first quarter points and New York would maintain control of the game using a 12-0, second quarter run to open up a 16 point cushion. A key for the Knicks was the uninspiring play of Paul George who was held scoreless until the closing moments of the half after draining a 3 pointer. George has notoriously played well versus New York this season so his lack of production was something of a mystery to many observers. The Knicks do deserve some credit as their defensive intensity was solid but offensively they also made George work which landed him in foul trouble.
Without his primary scorer at the top of his game, Indiana Head Coach, Frank Vogel decided to ride his big man following the intermission. Roy Hibbert scored 14 of his 20 points in the 3rd and during one stretch scored 8 consecutive for the Pacers with Tyson Chandler getting a breather. Indiana would cut the lead to as little as 3 before Pablo Prigioni‘s lay-up attempt was goaltended by Evan Turner.
Indy would pull to within one point, early in the fourth searching for their first lead since the score was 9-8. From there the Knicks would once again assert themselves by reeling off 8 straight points. Later in the quarter on a broken play and with the shot clock winding down, Raymond Felton would bank in a prayer from behind the arc as it was one of those rare nights for New York this season where a lot of bounces went their way.
Anthony would eventually leave his mark on the game utilizing a quick spin move on Paul George and finishing with a two-handed flush. Melo would then knock down a mid range jumper putting NY up by nine and finally with the Knicks up six points, Melo found a wide open Felton for his 5th assist of the game to go along with his game high 34 points. George tried his best to get his team back in the game but the night ultimately belonged to the Knicks.
Final
Knicks 92 Pacers 86
Notes:
Knicks has now won a season high, 7 consecutive games
New York outrebounded Indiana 45-40
Indiana had 0 fast break points
Wilson Caicedo: PureSportsNY