Pacers 112, Knicks 96: Pacers Cruise Past Knicks

After the Knicks pushed their lead to seven points early in the second quarter, the Pacers went on a 10-0 run and then continued to stretch the lead to as much as 24 on their way to a 112-96 win over the Knicks. Danny Granger sparked the Pacers huge second quarter, scoring 21 of his career-high 25 points. Observations from the game:

• Eddie Curry picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and then battled Jeff Foster and friends and never found his rhythm. Curry finished with only ten points on six FG attempts. The Pacers' frustrating front court defense also forced five Curry turnovers.


• Isiah Thomas felt some pre-game love, as JO, Foster, and Tins all walked over to give him a hugshake as they went out to line up for the opening tip.


• Aside from Granger's second quarter outburst, the Pacers relied on solid play from nearly everyone in the regular rotation. Nothing spectacular, but great team defense and patient half court sets really made this a complete team effort.


• The Pacers missed a ton of bunnies in the first half and had to rely on the 3-ball to hang around until they got rolling in the second half. Jeff Foster has to be on pace for the most missed layups for a season. Whether he's trying to put back a rebound or gets a feed at the hoop he seems to rush the ball to the glass and it doesn't go in. His reaction tonight revealed he's thinking about it too.


• The Knicks appear to have a better collection of talent than last year. Obviously they don't have the perfect mix but looking at the talent of Crawford, Marbury, Curry, and David Lee coming off the bench, it seems they shouldn't be as bad as their record reflects. You could really sense the let down when they fell behind by double digits. In the Pacers last game, the Pistons exuded complete confidence that they were never out of the game and would make a run to give them a chance to win. Tonight there was no hint of confidence that the Knicks felt they could put together a run to get back in the game.


• The Pacers are back over .500 at 13-12 and looking forward to a big test against Utah on Sunday. The six game home win streak will be tested by the Jazz who come to Conseco with the best record in the NBA.

(Photo: AP Photo/Darron Cummings)