The New York Knicks (11-11) travel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse when they take on the Indiana Pacers (12-11) on Monday.
The Knicks trailed by 17 in the first quarter on Sunday and could not quite complete the comeback as they fell short in a 105-100 defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic. New York actually took a three-point lead in the third quarter, but a 10-0 fourth-quarter run by the Magic thwarted their chances at a win. Michael Beasley led the way with 21 points, Courtney Lee had 19, and Enes Kanter scored 18 and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Indiana has lost two straight after Friday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors by the score of 120-115.
Toronto ended the second quarter with a 17-4 run to take a lead that they never relinquished. Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with a season-high 36 points.
Knicks/Pacers projected starters
Knicks: PG - Jarrett Jack, SG - Damyean Dotson, SF - Courtney Lee, PF - Michael Beasley, C - Enes Kanter
Pacers: PG - Darren Collison, SG - Victor Oladipo, SF - Bojan Bogdanovic, PF - Thaddeus Young, C - Myles Turner
Knicks/Pacers stat leaders
Knicks: Scoring - Kristaps Porzingis 25.8 (out Monday, leading available scorer is Enes Kanter at 14.3), Rebounding - Enes Kanter 10.7, Assists - Jarrett Jack 6.0
Pacers: Scoring - Victor Oladipo 23.4, Rebounding - Domantas Sabonis 8.7, Assists - Darren Collison 6.5
Notable injuries
Knicks: Out - Tim Hardaway Jr.
(leg), Kristaps Porzingis (ankle)
Pacers: Out - Glenn Robinson III (ankle)
What to know going into Monday’s game
Since Jarrett Jack became the Knicks’ starting point guard in their fourth game, the team has gone 11-3 with their regular starting lineup of Jack, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, Kristaps Porzingis, and Enes Kanter.
In any other game missing one of those players, New York is 0-5. They will be missing two due to injury on Monday (Porzingis and Hardaway).
Fifteen of the first 22 games have been at home for the Knicks meaning there will be a lot of road games on the horizon including Monday. They have won just one of their seven away games on the season.
Winning on the road will need to become much more habitual if New York wants to stay in playoff contention.
Indiana will want to avenge their previous loss to New York on November 5, a game they led 84-65 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter. The Knicks outscored the Pacers 43-17 the rest of the way for the incredible come-from-behind win.
Knicks/Pacers regular season history
The Knicks and Pacers have met 172 times in the regular season with New York holding a 91-81 advantage in the win column.
The Knicks have now won three in a row in the head-to-head series after their 108-101 victory over Indiana on November 5. Kristaps Porzingis scored a career-high 40 points in that game while also grabbing eight rebounds and blocking six shots.
