Knicks vs. Pacers: Indiana wins series in 6 games

The Pacers initially took control of the game in the second quarter thanks to balanced scoring from their starting five and utter domination on the glass. The Pacers out-rebounded the Knicks 25-15 in the first half. Stephenson was key in the first half, scoring 13 points, including a three-point play with five seconds left to stretch the Pacers lead to eight at the half. Anthony’s 20 first-half points and eight Pacers turnovers were the only two things that kept Indiana from blowing the game open.

Anthony wouldn’t let the Knicks go quietly, scoring 35 of his 39 points in the first three quarters as the Knicks tried to fight back. George continued to hound him on defense, but Anthony was able to convert just a couple of inches of space into points. Anthony did struggle in the fourth quarter, though, making just two of his seven shot attempts.

The unusually high scoring continued in the second quarter, but the Pacers were able to extend their lead thanks to the combination of their continued dominance inside and jump shots for any Knick not named Carmelo Anthony clanging off the rim. Before the game, Drew Garrison listed three storylines that would help determine Game 6. Here’s where we stand so far.

They did for most of the first quarter, but then the reserves came in and they started piling up a bit. Overall though, the return of Hill did a lot to cut down on the turnovers, as the Pacers have eight for the half. Not ideal, but not on pace for the 19 they had in Game 5. Hill even led Indiana on a couple of fast breaks, something that’s been a rare sight in this series.

Staring at an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers’ offense should get a nice boost from Hill’s return. The guard scored a team-high 26 points in Indiana’s Game 4 victory, but also suffered a concussion at some point during the game.

That head injury kept him out of Game 5 as the league proceeded with its post-concussion policy, which required Hill to pass a series of tests before being cleared by doctors. He didn’t successfully complete those tests until Saturday.

Will it be enough on Sunday? Let’s take a look at three keys to the game:

The Pacers turned the ball over 19 times in Game 5. Yes, they were missing Hill, but turnovers have been a constant issue for Indiana in this series. They’ve averaged 17.8 turnovers through five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers’ focus on defense is unquestionable, but they cannot continue to give possessions away. A turnover has a zero percent chance of being a successful field goal. I’ve done the math.

For Chandler, this is just the latest injury he’ll have to play through this offseason. Already dealing with knee and back injuries sustained in the Knicks’ Game 5 victory, he insisted Saturday morning he’s “fine” but it’s reasonable to wonder how he’ll play considering the issues he’s already had this postseason.

After averaging a double-double during the regular season, Chandler has put up six points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 11 postseason contests this year. His presence on the offensive end has been minimal, but New York can hardly afford to lose his post presence on the other end of the court.

Even with the big game from Copeland, though, the Knicks still have work to do in this series.

They trail 3-2 as the action heads back to Indiana on Saturday night.

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At least for one half, the answer is “yes.” Smith hit a three-pointer on his first shot attempt and hasn’t slowed down from there. Through two quarters of play, he has nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field to go with four rebounds.

Turnovers have been an issue for Indiana, which is struggling to run a fluid offense without Hill in the starting lineup. Through two quarters of play, the Pacers have six turnovers, although it only led to three fast-break points for the Knicks.

During the playoffs, Hill has averaged 16 points, 4.4 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.

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The game tips off at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, with the Knicks as five-point favorites. Here’s a quick look at three questions that could determine the outcome:

2) Can the Pacers avoid turning the ball over?

The plan backfired, as Indiana still managed to win the rebounding battle 56-36 while scoring 36 points in the paint to just 26 for New York. Woodson said changing his team’s fortunes on the glass is an absolute must if the Knicks are to get back in the series.

“Rebounding wise we got hammered on the boards again,” Woodson said. “We’re going to have to get to a point where we go home, we have to realize that we’re going to have to rebound the basketball. I thought that’s what hurt us in crucial situations when we would make a slight run, they would get another second chance opportunity and they capitalized on it. That’s really what has hurt us. That was the big difference tonight again.”

It’s not the most statistically impressive game of Hill’s career, but rarely has the 27-year-old seemed so in control of the game. The Pacers had the lead from start to finish, powered by an efficient 37 minutes from its lead guard. This all from a guy that shot 30 percent in the first three games of the series.

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In terms of winning and losing, though, it’s been Indiana’s series. Playing the kind of basketball they hope to coax out of themselves each and every night, the Pacers have played bigger, played stronger and played harder than their opponents. Really, they’re playing the kind of basketball that won 49 games during the regular season.

For some years now, the league has been moving toward smaller lineups armed with long-armed defenders and quality shooters. The Pacers don’t severely lack those kinds of players, but their ability to couple those characteristics with size and intensity makes for a truly imposing squad.

After struggling through the first three games of the series, Hill put up a postseason-high 26 points to power Indiana’s attack. The guard hit 9 of 14 shots (64 percent) on the night, a major improvement from his 30 percent shooting percentage in the first three games of the series.

The beginning of the game gave a strong indication of what was to come for New York. The Knicks missed 11 of their first 12 shots, looking very much like a team overwhelmed by the intensity of Indiana’s defense and raucous crowd.

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.

Dr. Answorth Allen, the surgeon who operated on Shumpert’s ACL last year, was flown to Indianapolis to inspect the knee and took an MRI for Tuesday leading into the 7 p.m. ET tip for Game 4.

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So far, he has not had trouble in his recovery. Shumpert was most recently showing a renewed explosion that he didn’t display as he slowly worked his way back into form.

Shumpert hasn’t practiced since. The Knicks flew in their orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Answorth Allen, to examine Shumpert on Tuesday, according to the New York Times.

It’s only 2-1 in Indiana’s favor, but it seems worse for the Knicks. The Pacers, the league’s best defense efficiency-wise, in the regular season, has twice made New York look completely out of sorts. It culminated in an 82-71 performance in Game 3, an effort that would have been the Knicks’ lowest scoring output of the regular season.

The problem here is bigger than bad outcomes for New York: what they do has been fundamentally changed by Indiana. From Joe Flynn of Posting and Toasting, in a piece entitled “Who are you guys, and what have you done with the New York Knicks?“

As a result, his status for a game that could determine the Knicks’ season is up in the air. A loss on Tuesday would give the Indiana a daunting 3-1 series lead and push New York to the brink of elimination.

Shumpert has quietly been the Knicks most effective two-way player in the series. An extremely athletic 6’5, 220-pound wing with the length and athleticism to defend multiple positions, Shumpert has given New York a somewhat unexpected boost on the offensive end as well, averaging 10 points on 45/44/83 shooting in the post-season.

The Indiana Pacers’ defensive performance in Saturday’s 82-71 Game 3 victory over the New York Knicks was the closest thing to perfect that I’ve seen all year. Indiana committed a couple breakdowns in Game 2 that allowed the Knicks to tie the series, but those weren’t present on Saturday. Not only did New York score just 71 points, but they did so while attempting only three “open” jump shots, according to MySynergySports.com.

More importantly, the Pacers cut off the Knicks’ biggest weapon: the 3-point shot. During the regular season, the Knicks attempted just under 29 3-pointers a game (35 percent of their shot attempts) and hit 37.6 percent. Saturday, the Knicks attempted 11 threes (15.5 percent of their shot attempts) and hit just 27.3 percent of them. In seven games against the Pacers this season, the Knicks have attempted 23.4 threes per game (27.9 of their shot attempts), hitting only 29.9 percent on them.

Vogel added the Knicks do a good job of denying post entry-passes and that he’d like to see Hibbert get the ball down low even more.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday from Indianapolis at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on TNT.

While the Knicks struggled from all over, they most notably struggled from three, where they were just 3-for-11. During the season, they attempted close to 29 attempts per game and connected on 10 of those attempts. Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said his team’s goal on defense wasn’t just to make the Knicks shoot contested threes, but to keep them from shooting them at all.

“We know that if we take the 3-ball away from this team they’re going to struggle to score.” Vogel said.

Here are three key questions facing these teams that could determine this series:

The J.R. Smith that carried the Knicks to the No. 2 seed and won Sixth Man of the Year has been invisible since he was ejected from Game 3 of the first round after elbowing Jason Terry in the head. In this series’ first two games, he has shot 7-30. In Game 2, he was just 1-7 from three-point range, scored just eight points and committed three turnovers.

And that’s what New York really needs from Stoudemire, a nudge back in that direction.

Though he’s a legitimate one-on-one weapon for the Knicks in his own right, his presence as another scoring option on the floor could encourage Anthony and Smith to get the offense flowing again.

In addition to his shooting troubles, Smith has been making some headlines off the court. After going 3-of-15 in the Game 2 victory on Tuesday, Smith was seen partying with Rihanna late into the night. Smith avoided questions about the situation on Friday by walking out on the assembled media.

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