The Indiana Pacers took the game with a strong 4th quarter, turning an 81-81 tie at the start of the period into a 10-pt lead, 110-100, with 2:25 left.
The Knicks had one furious comeback left in them — scoring 9 straight points to pull to within 110-109, and then had one last shot at a tie, down 112-109 with 4 seconds left.
But Jalen Brunson’s 3 rimmed out with .2 seconds left and Indiana took a 2-0 lead in games in the best-of-7 series, winning the first 2 games at Madison Square Garden.
Siakam had 39 points on 13-23 shooting (3-5 from 3) to win the game for Indiana. Brunson had 36 pts on 13-27 shooting (5-12 from 3); Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges had 20 pts each.
### 1\. Indiana Jumped Out to 19-9 Lead
The Knicks were coming off the horrific ending of game 1, where they had a 17-pt lead in the 4th quarter, and 14-pt lead with 3 minutes left, evaporate because of 6-6 shooting from 3 by Aaron Nesmith in the final minutes.
NY came out with a pressure D, making sure Indiana wasn’t getting off 3′. But Indiana got buckets inside and NY relaxed that D and before you knew it, it was Indiana 19 NY 9.
### 2\. NY Intensified Defense; Took 26-24 Lead After 1
But NY brought in Mitchell Robinson, and re-intensified their D and got right back into the game.
Miles McBride and Brunson hit back-to-back 3’s followed by a McBride deuce, OG Anunoby dunked, Mikal Bridges hit free throws, and Mitchell Robinson tipped in an offensive rebound, and NY took a 26-24 lead after 1 quarter.
### 2\. Siakam Rebounded with a Strong Game
Both teams rectified things that went wrong in game 1. While NY was making sure Aaron Nesmith and other Indiana shooters were pressured at the 3, Indiana made sure Pascal Siakam was getting the ball with opportunities to score.
Siakam killed the Knicks from the start, and all game.
### 3\. Indiana Had No Answer for Mitch Inside
Indiana had no answer for Mitchell Robinson inside. When he was in the game the Knick defense and interior presence on offense was noticeable. At one point in the 2nd quarter, Mitch was a team-high +17 in 10 minutes of playing time.
Karl-Anthony Towns joined Mitch and Indiana had really nothing to combat them. A Mitch alley oop slam tied the game 33-33 early in the 2nd, then KAT made 2 free throws off a drive inside, and hit a 3 next time down and NY had a 38-33 lead.
### 4\. Knicks by 3 at the Half
But then Ben Sheppard hit a 3, and Pascal Siakam continued to get buckets, and Indiana stayed with the Knicks no matter what the Knicks did with their intense defense.
Josh Hart free throws gave the Knicks a 3-pt lead at the half.
### 5\. Bridges Came on in 2nd Half
Mikal Bridges came on in the 2nd half for the Knicks, giving them that extra edge on offense — to go along with KAT and Brunson — and it looked like he could be the difference in the Knicks getting some separation in the score.
But Tyrese Halliburton — who had a poor 1st half — started cooking and Indiana had another offensive weapon besides Siakam.
### 6\. Razor-Tight Game Throughout
It was a razor tight game throughout — the two teams locked within 3 points of each other seemingly throughout.
### 7\. Knicks D Not as Good with KAT & Brunson on Court
Indiana was able to attack NY when KAT and Brunson were on the court at the same time. NY just couldn’t get stops.
KAT finished with a -20 despite scoring 20 pts, albiet on not great 6-20 shooting (2-5 from 3) with 7 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Thibs played Mitchell Robinson more at center; Mitch finished with 29 minutes, and had 6 pts and 9 rebounds and a +6. Indiana employed hack-a-Mitch twice in the game; Mitch went 1-2 both times to finish 2-4 in free throws.
### 8\. Indiana & Siakam Take It in 4th
The game was 81-81 to start the 4th.
* But TJ McConnell got a bucket to start the period, then Myles Turner got a dunk-and-1, and then Turner hit 14-footer to respond to a Bridges bucket.
* A Ben Sheppard 3 put Indiana up by 6.
* A Pascal Siakam 3 put Indiana up by 9 with 9 minutes left.
Mikal Bridges kept getting buckets for NY, but NY couldn’t get stops.
* Aaron Nesmith broke loose for a 3 to put Indiana up 9. Brunson answered with a 3, and Bridges hit a deuce to pull NY back within 3.
* But Turner got loose again for a free throw off a drive, a bucket inside, and then a 3.
* NY was down 4 when Haliburton hit a 3 and it was 106-99 Indiana with 4:06 left.
* Siakam hit free throws, and then a deuce with 2:45 left and Indiana was up 110-100 and the game was seemingly over.
But NY would not die.
The Knicks finally got stops. OG hit a free throw, Brunson hit a 3, Brunson hit a floater, and Hart made a drive and NY was down 110-109 with 14 seconds left.
NY purposely fouled Nesmith to stop the clock. He made both free throws and NY came down without a time out — Brunson took a 3 from straight-away with 8 seconds left — and the ball rimmed out.
NY was forced to foul, and Myles Turner hit both free throws for the old ballgame.
### The Boxscore
[https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/\_/gameId/401772990](https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401772990)