The Knicks were with the Pacers all the way through the first quarter, but things got ugly at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday night. Indiana ratcheted up its defensive intensity starting in the second quarter, and no one save for Carmelo Anthony could score against the team with the best record in the NBA.
2014 NBA scores: Pacers thump Knicks, Thunder survive huge Rockets first half
The Indiana Pacers handed out a beat down to the New York Knicks behind Paul George’s three-point proficiency and Lance Stephenson’s career night.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Lance Stephenson and Paul George put on a show for their home crowd in the blowout, scoring 28 and 25 points respectively. The Pacers had 10 made three-pointers and shot 50 percent from the field on their way to a drubbing of the Knicks, 117-89.
New York fell ill to the injury bug, with Kenyon Martin and Amare Stoudemire both spraining their left ankles in the second and third quarters, respectively. Meanwhile, Tim Hardaway Jr. fell on his wrist late in the game but X-rays came back negative.
Strangely, no Indiana player had double-digit assists or rebounds, a true testament to the Pacers defense being able to force New York to shoot 40 percent for the game and cough up 12 turnovers to their own five.
Spiderman is Pacers fan.
Both teams decided to bring their firepower across to the pond as the Hawks and the Nets squared off in London Thursday night. Kyle Korver was able to extend his three-point-made streak to 108 straight games, but the Hawks eventually fell to the Nets.
Joe Johnson scored 29 points for Brooklyn, including six three-pointers. The Hawks were never really in this one despite scoring 110 points, and the game was over before the fourth quarter even started. Andray Blatche had an impressive outing of 20 points on 10-of-18 shooting, adding 14 rebounds, six assists and one block off the bench.
Joe Johnson also did this:
Thunder 104, Rockets 92
The Houston Rockets were out in front of the Oklahoma City Thunder big in the first half, scoring 73 points, but couldn't hold on as they went ice cold in the second half. Houston lost to Oklahoma City despite their 12 made three-pointers, 104-92.
The Rockets couldn't buy a bucket in the second half, scoring just 19 points on their way to shooting just 40 percent for the game. Houston tied a record for fewest points in a half, originally set by the Clipper vs. the Lakers in 1999. Oklahoma City never wavered, and instead attacked the basket and created turnovers. Reggie Jackson had an incredible game filling in for Russell Westbrook, scoring 23 points and four assists, adding six steals en route to a Thunder road win.
It probably didn't help when Dwight Howard decided he didn't want any part of Kevin Durant:
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