The Knicks followed their Mike Woodson-era script for three quarters against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. In spite of injuries to Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin, New York was simply in another league for the first 36 minutes. Carmelo Anthony was scoring at will, Landry Fields snapped his cold streak and the defense, after struggling initially, held the Pacers to 41 points over the second and third quarters to bring a 15-point lead into the final frame.
And then disaster struck.
The Knicks—a team that continues to redefine "streaky"—yielded 40 fourth-quarter points to the Pacers as a very winnable game ended 112-104 in Indiana's favor.
New York's lead evaporated in a storm bad shots, worse fouls and big plays from the Pacers. At one point Anthony and J.R. Smith collided while going for a rebound, only to send the ball further into the air where Indiana power forward Louis Amundson could tip it in to cut the lead to 89-87. After two threes from Pacers star Danny Granger—one of which was punctuated with a mocking rendition Steve Novak's "discount double check" mime—the Pacers held a 94-91 lead and held on for the win from there.
"We somewhat self-destructed a little bit," said Woodson, whose record as interim coach fell to 9-3. "We kind of lost our composure. We played solid for three quarters. We gave up 40 points in the fourth quarter... We totally got away from our defensive strategy, I thought.
"It was a winnable game," he added.
What's particularly frustrating for Woodson was that the Pacers weren't changing their strategy in the fourth quarter. Yes, they started hitting more shots, but the Knicks stopped playing the same level of defense that they exhibited for the first three quarters. Woodson suggested that fatigue may have been an issue, but even if that was the case, he made the necessary substitutions to avoid that kind of a let down.
"I went to the bench," Woodson said. "I thought the bench was solid throughout the first three quarters... I went back with my starters right away when they cut into the lead and we just couldn't hold it.
"(The Pacers) didn't do anything any differently and (we) went away from (the defense) and I got to take the blame for it because I got to get them doing it for 48 minutes and we had been doing that," Woodson added.
And as if that ending wasn't brutal enough for Knicks fans, Smith got booted in the game's final moments for throwing Indiana guard Leandro Barbosa to the hardwood.
"I'll sit down with J.R. and tell him he's got to be a little bit more professional," Woodson said. "But, he was frustrated, I could see that. That fourth quarter lingered on and maybe I should have pulled him but I didn't and he and I will have a discussion about that because that's a little bit unprofessional I think."
Of course, there were some bright spots for the Knicks. Fields averaged just 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists while making just 44.3 percent of his field goals in the month of March after posting 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and a 47.8 percent field goal shooting mark in February; but he was completely rejuvenated on Tuesday.
Most importantly, Fields re-discovered his intensity. The second-year swingman attempted just one free throw over his previous two games, but made 3 of 4 against Indian en route to a 15-point performance. Fields took Pacers swingman Paul George off the dribble a few times and even skied over Indiana big men Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough for a few of his four rebounds.
And no one can blame Anthony for the loss either. He wasn't hitting 3-pointers (just 1 of 5 from distance), but everything else was falling for the eight-year veteran. Anthony finished with 39 points and 10 rebounds on 17-of-31 shooting from the field.
Anthony is averaging 29.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 50% from the field over his last five contests.
But as good as Anthony and Fields were, Baron Davis is equally bad, finishing with six points on 2-of-8 shooting to go with three assists and three blocks. While he didn't turn the ball over, his shot selection continued to be a problem and he struggled to stay in front of the ball on defense.
Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby saw a combined 20 minutes of action, but only hit one field goal between the two of them.
The 27-27 Knicks now head to Orlando for Thursday's matchup against a Magic team that should be eager for revenge after losing by 22 points at Madison Square Garden last week. New York now holds a one and a half game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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