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Pacers 108, Knicks 105: Scenes from a loss that wasn't quite as horrible as all the other losses

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

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:

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:

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:

Crunch time! Here's the Melo tech:

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.