Tyler Hansbrough stole the (heavy) spotlight from the star-studded New York Knicks as he scored 30 points for the Indiana Pacers en route to a 119-117 victory. Hansbrough has been playing like an All-Star of late, and shot 12-17 against Shawne Williams and others. But it was teammate Danny Granger who had the final word.
Knicks Vs. Pacers: Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough Wreak Havoc, Shred New York
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni opted to play Amar'e Stoudemire at center against Indiana after the Pacers knocked off the Knicks last week, benching the awful Jared Jeffries. It didn't work. Roy Hibbert (Stoudemire's man) broke off 15 points, 12 rebounds (six on offense) and a couple blocks. Hansbrough shredded Williams, and Granger (26 points, 10-20 shooting) went nuts on Carmelo Anthony. But it was Williams who tried to defend Granger on the final play of the game.
Anthony and Stoudemire did well on offense too, scoring 29 and 21 respectively. But New York shouldn't be in close games with teams like the Pacers; Indiana is No. 24 in the NBA in offense at 1.045 points per possession, but has scored 1.16 and 1.17 in the two games against the Knicks this week. The Knicks were bad on defense before trading for Anthony, and appear to have gotten worse. Meanwhile, the offense hasn't played well enough to overcome that. These are not the D'Antoni Suns.
The Pacers maintain their hold on the No. 8 seed in the East. The Knicks are only a half-game ahead of the 76ers for No. 6.
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