On February 2, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA regular season continued, and the New York Knicks hosted the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks have recently won eight in a row, and the team is in good shape and morale, and is currently in third place in the East with a 31-17 record, just one win away from the Bucks in front of them. The Pacers lost their last game to the Green Army and swallowed their 21st loss of the season and currently sit in sixth place in the East. Randle and Anunoby continued to be absent in this game, and Achiuwa, Hart, Hartenstein, Brunson, and DiVincenzo made up the start. On the Pacers' side, Sika, Nesmith, Turner, Haliburton and Hield started the game.
In the first quarter of the game, the Pacers took the lead in entering the state, and the firepower was full of firepower and gradually widened the difference; The Pacers had a mediocre outside feel in this quarter, only hitting 3 3-pointers, mainly relying on the inside to cut points, frequently impacting the basket to create scoring opportunities, and conceded 2 shots with high efficiency, and the whole team scored 36 points in a single quarter. The Knicks frequently played iron inside and outside, scoring 26 points in a single quarter, and the Pacers led by 10 points in the first quarter;
In the second quarter, the Pacers' hand dropped significantly, but the Knicks also did not improve significantly. The Pacers had a slight warming up from the outside in this quarter, making 3-of-7 3-pointers compared to 0-of-4 for the Knicks. The Knicks focused their main firepower on the inside, frequently hitting the basket. Brunson was on fire in the quarter, scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, but the rest of the players failed to step up and keep up the fire. At halftime, the Pacers still led by seven points at 58-51; The Knicks made just 3-of-14 three-pointers in the half, and that's a point they needed to improve significantly in the second half.
Yibian fought again, and the Knicks still did not improve on the outside, only 1 of 8 3-pointers in a single quarter, and the main firepower was concentrated under the basket, conceding a total of 3 shots. McBride became the bench wonder man in this quarter, he scored 8 points on 3-of-3 shooting, and Brunson also added 8 points on 4-of-8 shooting, and the team scored 28 points in a single quarter; The Pacers hit three 3-pointers in this quarter, but the interior efficiency was obviously at a disadvantage, and they frequently hit the iron, scoring 26 points in a single quarter, and the Pacers led by 5 points 84-79 in the third quarter;
At the beginning of the final quarter, Smith took the lead with a 3-point shot to open up the difference, McBride immediately answered the ball with a 3-pointer, and DiVincenzo continued with a 3-pointer, directly stopping the Pacers; After the timeout, the Pacers made efforts to open up the difference, and Nembhard turned and made a jumper, and the difference came to 6 points; But not to be outdone, the Knicks also returned a wave of small climaxes to overtake the point difference, Brunson scored 4 points in a row, and the Knicks overtook 4 points, directly stopping the Pacers. After the pause, Hartenstein made a dunk, and the difference continued to widen! After that, the Pacers were unable to turn the tide and the Knicks won nine in a row
Statistics: Knicks: Brunson 40 points and 5 boards, Hartenstein 12 points, 19 rebounds and 6 assists, Achiuwa 12 points, 16 rebounds and 4 steals, Hart 5 points and 12 boards, Devon 20 points, McBride 16 points;
Pacers: Nesmith 17 points and 6 boards, Siakam 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, Turner 5 points, Haliburton 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Nembhard 10 points and 6 assists, Smith 20 points and 9 boards, Toppin 12 points. Sports Warm Winter Creation Season