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Hey I mean uhhhh at least they played somewhat hard and made it a game and stuff! The Knicks got super hot against the Pacers in the first half and the tail end of the third quarter -- Kristaps Porzingis, Langston Galloway, Jose Calderon, and Kyle O'Quinn(!!!) each caught a flame or two to keep the Knicks ahead for a while and weather some Pacer runs. Indiana dominated the paint, but New York didn't go cold from downtown until ... you know, until the end of the game when it was super important to make those shots.
Speaking of cold, Carmelo Anthony was very off and very fidgety, and some miserable (5-20) shooting met a bad late technical foul to sink the Knicks. Paul George had been similarly off to start the game, but very rudely found his stride in the second half.
This really would have been the O'Quinn Game if the Knicks won. He had some great moments on defense, actually finished some stuff on offense, and even found more touch from downtown than he has all season:
REPLAY: @Kyle_OQuinn beats the buzzer! #NYKvsIND pic.twitter.com/Pgkp7RqohI
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 25, 2016
Kristaps didn't defend great and got a liiiittle too dainty around the rim sometimes, but led New York in scoring with a mostly splendid game:
REPLAY: @carmeloanthony drops the dime to @kporzee on the break! #Knicks lead 12-8. #NYKvsIND pic.twitter.com/vmoIyEPyBw
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 25, 2016
7'3 step back pic.twitter.com/SHm2bWgC61
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) February 25, 2016
Indiana came out of the tunnel in the second half really sharp, and appeared to run away with the game, but -- with a mostly benchy unit on the floor -- the Knicks got hot again and pulled ahead for a lead through the late-third and early-fourth quarters:
Go @LangGalloway10 go. LG buries his 3rd shot from downtown. #Knicks 13-of-21 from 3-PT & lead 88-84 4Q. pic.twitter.com/lYY29kpgia
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) February 25, 2016
Crunch time! Here's the Melo tech:
Carmelo sick of losing but doing this on a dead ball with 90 secs left in a 3-pt game. Technical. https://t.co/iH0xRtAxrQ
— Jared Wade (@Jared_Wade) February 25, 2016
And here's the simply sweet but unfortunately ineffective play the Knicks ran for their game-winning attempt:
Melo appropriately air-balled the last-ditch effort, and New York lost. They do that. More later.