The New York Knicks are struggling to hit shots, grab boards or draw fouls - generally, they're just not very good at basketball right now. As a result, they're trailing 48-34 at halftime to the Indiana Pacers in Tuesday's Game 4 matchup.
Knicks vs. Pacers score update, Game 4: Indiana leads 48-34 at halftime
If the Knicks are going to turn the tide in this series, they’ll have to start in the second half of Tuesday’s game.
Needing a victory to tie up the series heading back to New York for Game 5, the Knicks have come out utterly flat in a pivotal road game. Continuing what’s becoming a theme of the series, the Pacers’ stifling defense has brought the Knicks’ perimeter-oriented attack to a halt.
In nearly every aspect of the game beyond turnovers, Indiana has the advantage. As they’ve done all series, the Pacers have a major advantage on the boards (30-18), and they’re also shooting a better percentage from the field as well -- 45 percent to New York’s 33 percent.
Prior to tip-off, Rodger Sherman dug into three key questions about Tuesday’s game. Let’s try to provide some early answers going into the second half.
Will the Knicks get three-pointers?
Nope. New York took its fair share of attempts from beyond the arc, but missed all six of its three-pointers in the first quarter and 12 of 14 attempts overall. Iman Shumpert, who is dealing with knee soreness, missed all four of his long-range shots in the first half. Carmelo Anthony hit one of two three-point attempts, part of the only remotely solid offensive effort from a Knicks player. Melo has 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting and six rebounds.
Does Roy Hibbert continue to kill it?
The Pacers center didn’t dominate early, but his post presence was constantly looming and a big dunk near the end of the first quarter punctuated a 9-2 run. His overall numbers aren’t bad -- four points, eight rebounds, three blocks -- but he’s probably not breaking the 20-point barrier for a second straight game.
How does the Knicks’ flu crew do?
J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin both were relatively quiet in the first half, though it's unclear if that's a direct result of the illness that's struck both players. Smith's struggles shooting from the field continue, as he missed all but one of his shot attempts, while Martin didn't take a single attempt. Martin did find some ways to contribute beyond scoring. His three assists lead the team so far, plus he blocked a shot on the other end of the floor. Smith finished the half with three points, shooting 1 of 8 from the field.
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