All-Star forward Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and two-way contract guard Quenton Jackson scored 19 points including seven in overtime to lead the Pacers to a 137-134 win over the Knicks on Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden in the most back-and-forth game in the NBA this season. The Eastern Conference Finals rematch included 39 lead changes — most in any NBA game this season — and 16 ties.
The Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 14-40, though they still sit in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks fell to 34-20, sliding from second to third in the East.
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Point guard Andrew Nembhard posted 24 points and 10 assists for the Pacers, who had eight players in double figures. Point guard T.J. McConnell had 13 points, forward Aaron Nesmith had 11. Centers Jay Huff and Micah Potter and guard Ben Sheppard had 10 each. Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson posted 40 points and eight assists. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Swingman Josh Hart had a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and guard Landry Shamet had 17 points.
Here are three observations.
Quenton Jackson come through huge in overtime
The Pacers have had to keep two-way contract guard on the bench in recent games to make sure he doesn’t get to his 50-game limit for being active with the big club. He’s appeared in just two G League games this season with the Noblesville Boom and has played in 25 NBA games but been active in several more.
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However with forward Johnny Furphy out with an ACL tear and forward Jarace Walker out with an illness, the Pacers needed all hands on deck. Furphy’s injury created an opening in the starting lineup and Jackson filled it, starting at shooting guard.
As usual, Jackson was ready for the moment, even in the brightest lights at the Garden. He made some impact in the first half with a 3-pointer but came up with bigger moments as the game went on. He hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter to help keep the Pacers close and hit a fourth-quarter free throw to give the Pacers the lead. Then once the game went to overtime, Jackson made huge plays to give the Pacers the lead and then to help them hold on to it.
Jackson started the overtime scoring with a hard driving layup and a left-handed finish with 3:51 to go in the period. Then after a driving layup by Pascal Siakam, he drilled a 3-pointer off a pass from Siakam that put the Pacers up seven points.
A pull-up jumper by Andrew Nembhard put the Pacers up nine points and the Knicks cut into that with two 3-pointers in the game’s final 20 seconds by Shamet and Brunson, but Jackson was fouled with 3.9 seconds to go and hit two free throws to all but put the game away.
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Jackson finished with 19 points on 5 of 7 shooting including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He was also 5 of 6 at the line and had six rebounds and three assists.
Pacers bench steps up
The Pacers’ bench has been challenged all season and though the team has gotten over most of its injuries, the developments of the last week have put them in a bind again.
Furphy’s injury is one of the most significant they’ve dealt with all year, and playing without Walker cost them one of their most consistent players in recent weeks as he’s scored in double figures in each of his nine games. This was the first game Walker has missed all season. The Pacers still don’t have center Ivica Zubac after last week’s trade, so they only really had 10 players available on Tuesday.
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But those 10 all made notable contributions as they each played at least 16 minutes. Just two of the 10 failed to score in double figures and nine of the 10 had at least nine points. As has been the case in recent seasons with more stacked rosters, the depth was the Pacers’ trump card on the Knicks as the Pacers’ bench outscored New York’s 43-18. McConnell scored 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting to lead the group. Ben Sheppard had 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting and seven rebounds.
Kobe Brown effective in Pacers debut
The Pacers are still awaiting the debut of Ivica Zubac as he’s taking his time to allow a lingering ankle sprain to heal. However, forward Kobe Brown — who also came from the Clippers in the trade for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson and three draft picks — did make his debut on Tuesday and he made an impressive impact on both ends of the floor and particularly on the glass.
Brown entered the game off the bench and made his first three shots and kept making an impact on the glass. He finished with eight points on 3 of 4 shooting, hit his only 3-point attempt and also grabbed six rebounds. One of those was an offensive rebound that turned into a Micah Potter 3-pointer. Brown played 18:52 with Furphy’s injury and Walker’s illness creating an opening on the wing and the Pacers were +13 in his minutes.
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Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs Knicks: 39 lead changes end with Indiana’s 137-134 in OT
