INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jalen Brunson finished with 29 points and nine assists, OG Anunoby added 25 points and eight rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 101-92 on Friday night.
Mitchell Robinson had a career-high 22 rebounds to go with 12 points as last year's Eastern Conference runner-up won its second straight and its sixth game in nine contests. The Knicks are still fighting to earn a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the
first round of the playoffs.
Jarace Walker scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Pacers. Aaron Nesmith had 12 points as injury-riddled Indiana lost its 12th straight. Ivica Zubac added 11 points and eight rebounds in his second game with Indiana since being acquired in a February trade.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle insisted before the game that his short-handed defending Eastern Conference champions were still playing hard despite having the league's worst record and already being eliminated from the playoffs.
And though this game lacked the intensity of last season's surprise conference finals, the fight still showed.
Indiana rallied from a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to take a 74-73 lead when Nesmith barely beat the shot clock on a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in the quarter. Jordan Clarkson then beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3 that withstood a replay review, to give the Knicks a 76-74 lead.
It looked like the Knicks might finally pull away when they opened up an 83-77 lead early in the fourth, but Indiana charged back to 90-88 on Walker's two free throws with 2:56 to play. Then New York reeled off seven straight points to close out the victory on a night New York was just 8 of 28 on 3s.
Knicks: Host Golden State on Sunday.
Pacers: Visit Milwaukee on Sunday.
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