Gainbridge Fieldhouse is a house of horrors for the Knicks. There are other places, namely Utah and Los Angeles lately, that have given the Knicks’ fits, but there’s no place that just hurts more to play at than Indianapolis.
The Pacers (15-52) are trying to lose. They’ve load-managed as many players as humanly possible for much of the season, but they’ve happened to be particularly healthy whenever they see the orange and blue on the schedule. The Knicks (43-25) were lucky not to see Pascal Siakam tonight, but essentially every Pacer that wasn’t recovering from a torn Achilles was out there to try and spook a team they’ve eliminated in consecutive years.
Fortunately for our Knicks, they won’t see the now-eliminated Pacers in the playoffs in 2026, and there’s only one game left this season against them. For the third time in as many games, the Pacers forced the Knicks to get down and dirty and overexert to get a win against a team that would rather lose, but ultimately, unlike the overtime slugfest in MSG last month, the Knicks got it done, winning 101-92.
The biggest catalyst behind this win? To quote PW, “Mitch is killing it.” Robinson was forced to start due to a sore knee for Karl-Anthony Towns, and he wound up playing a season-high 31 minutes. He made it count—12 points, 22 rebounds (a career-high), nine offensive rebounds, and four stocks. It was as Mitch-y of a game as it could get.
Jalen Brunson poured in 29 points, mostly in an efficient first half, before a choppy second half. OG Anunoby attacked the rim all night and went 25-8-5. The starters were very, very good, all registering plus-minuses over 10.
First Half
The game got off to a choppy start on both ends, as the two teams looked to settle into a groove. Jalen Brunson, missing his co-star due to a balky knee, needed a few minutes to settle in and looked a tick off early. It was tied at four over four minutes in before the pace began to quicken and the Knicks got into a groove.
A trend of the first half? Gainbridge Fieldhouse became Lob City for the Knicks, who were setting up Mitchell Robinson for several thunderous jams (and an acrobatic layup for Mikal Bridges).
Very shorthanded, the Knicks went deep into the bench early, including a cameo by Pačome Dadiet. The second-year Frenchman announced his arrival early, nailing a late shot clock logo triple to give the Knicks an early 17-8 lead.
Of course, this Pacers team was never going to make things easy. Even as the Knicks settled into a groove with Brunson scoring 11 in the opening frame, the Pacers fought back to make it 24-21 after one.
The Knicks got the lead back to eight multiple times early in the second as OG Anunoby decided to get in on the lob threat (not to mention his poster dunk earlier). Still, those pesky Pacers battled back and even took the lead on an Andrew Nembhard mid-range five minutes into the quarter.
An 11-0 run immediately after for the Knicks put them up eight, partially aided by a Rick Carlisle technical foul, who got mad at the refs overturning a bad call of their own. A strong end to the first half saw Brunson get to 23 points and the birthday boy Landry Shamet stretching the lead to a game-high 11 to end the first half, 56-45.
Second Half
The Knicks led 62-47 after a Shamet free throw with 9:02 left in the third. That would be the high-water mark, as things immediately fell apart after that.
The Pacers, who had Nembhard and Ivica Zubac playing in the second half of a SEGABABA after resting the second half the night before, went on a run, but that run was mostly done with them off the floor. Over the next nine minutes, the Knicks were outscored 27-11 by a Pacers run that was buoyed by underrated backup center Jay Huff, who was draining top-of-the-key threes like Karl-Anthony Towns himself.
It also didn’t help that the Knicks’ lack of depth showed greatly. Brunson was playing in lineups that included Dadiet, Ariel Hukporti, and Jordan Clarkson. Those three, coupled with the up-and-down Mo Diawara, would share the floor with the captain during this run, where the Knicks were badly struggling to put the ball in the basket. The Pacers were content blitzing JB at halfcourt and daring the hodgepodge of other Knicks to make the right reads and make shots.
Eventually, the Pacers briefly came all the way back to take the lead on a catch-and-shoot triple by (who else?) Aaron Nesmith at the end of the shot clock with five seconds left. Not to worry, as Clarkson got him back with a buzzer-beater to give the Knicks the lead into the fourth, 76-74.
Anunoby opened the fourth with a strong drive to the rim for an and-1. Needing a spark defensively, Mike Brown threw out a lineup that included Robinson, Anunoby, and Jose Alvarado, who were able to muck things up for the Pacers. A block by Robinson on one end led to a tough Clarkson layup on the other, getting the lead back to seven just over two minutes in.
Normally, a 15-win team that’s actively trying to lose would eventually let go of the rope and happily accept the contribution to the tank, but not the Pacers against the Knicks. OAKAAK Obi Toppin hit a three, perpetual pest TJ McConnell nailed his patented 9-footer, and you’re back in a dogfight.
Brunson had to re-enter the game with just a hair under seven minutes to play to stabilize the offense as McConnell’s comically tough shotmaking frustrated fans across the globe. In a three-point game with 5:47 to go, the refs granted Brown a very delayed challenge because of some gamesmanship to delay an inbound, and it got the team an extra possession. Coach is now batting nearly .800 on challenges this season.
The game turned into a real slog as the closing lineups took the court. 88-83 entering the final four minutes is not a score you expect in 2026, but that’s what happens when all-star forwards are in street clothes on both sides. Jarace Walker nailed a corner three to cut it to two, the two teams exchanged free throws, and we entered clutch time.
Quiet for much of the night, and much of the road trip, it was Bridges who nailed a massive triple to extend the lead to seven with 1:58 to go. Who set it up? Big Mitch, who was up to 21 rebounds. A mid-range miss by Nembhard and a beautiful fastbreak Anunoby layup got the lead to nine and forced a timeout from Carlisle.
But of course, the Pacers were never going to make it easy. An acrobatic layup from Nesmith and a quick steal gave them a chance to cut it to four, but Nesmith couldn’t replicate his Game 1 heroics. In fact, Indiana got a few opportunities to show they were still capable of the magic that they had with Tyrese Haliburton out there, but they didn’t.
Game Notes
- Robinson’s 22 rebounds are a career high. He played 30:37, which is the second-most he’s played in a game since suffering a stress fracture in his ankle in December 2023. It’s the first time since April 2023 that he registered 20 rebounds.
- Brunson started 9-for-15 in the first half and finished 2-for-10. Around halftime, the Pacers figured out that they could just send two at Brunson and dare his teammates to capitalize, so that explains it. Overall, fine game.
- First time that Mikal Bridges has scored 10+ points since March 4 against the Thunder.
- Alright, about Indiana. If you don’t think that they are circling these games on the calendar as one of the only ones they’re trying to win in this tankfest, I don’t know what to tell you. Two of Andrew Nembhard’s top four games in minutes are against the Knicks. Tonight, he played 32 minutes, which is his most since before the All-Star break. He rested the entire second half yesterday, but apparently needs to be load-managed otherwise? But he can play back-to-backs like this? Ivica Zubac made his Pacers debut yesterday and also rested in the second half. He played 29 minutes and closed tonight.
Up Next
Knicks head home for a primetime clash with the shorthanded Golden State Warriors on Sunday night at 8 pm. Stephen Curry, who’s had some of his best games ever at MSG, will not play.
