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Pacers 121, Knicks 107: Scenes from Elfrid Payton, the death of fun

Maybe don’t start Elf next time.

New York Knicks v Indiana Pacers Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

The Knicks played one phenomenal half of basketball Wednesday night against the Pacers. Sadly, it was the first half, and the Pacers are a good basketball team that knows how to make adjustments.

The Knicks carried a 66-61 lead into halftime, but the mood soured at the break when it was announced that rookie Immanuel Quickley would miss the remainder of the game after suffering a hip pointer.

Quickley took over for ineffective starting PG Elfrid Payton early and provided a spark once again for the Knicks. Once Quickley left the game, it was all downhill from there. Elf was virtually unplayable, and the Knicks’ offensive stalled big-time.

The biggest saving grace throughout was the strong play of RJ Barrett. The second-year man looked like an All-Star in the first half, dropping 20 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting. He would only finish 11-15 for 26 points, however — as if that’s bad — to go along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and just 1 turnover.

Obi Toppin had a weird night, finishing 3-12 from the field — though a very nice 3-7 from beyond the arc — and threw an absolute dime to RJ.

Julius Randle played a tremendous first half of team basketball, but mostly reverted to his usual bullshit as the Pacers pulled away.

Alex will have the recap. Have a good weekend.