Oladipo scores 30 points as Pacers beat Knicks 121-113
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Victor Oladipo took a businesslike approach against the struggling Knicks.
The All-Star guard had 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat New York 121-113 on Sunday.
“We did a good job of settling down on both ends of the floor, getting stops and just trying to dictate our pace,” Oladipo said.
“We just have to build on it,” he added. “(New York) played hard. They weren’t just going to let us stomp all over them and we had to come in ready to play on both ends of the floor.”
Bojan Bogdanovic made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and Thaddeus Young added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Pacers, who have won six of eight.
Enes Kanter and Tim Hardaway Jr. each scored 17 points, and Michael Beasley had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, whose losing streak reached six games. New York is 0-2 since All-Star Kristaps Porzingis was lost for the season with a torn left ACL on Tuesday.
The Pacers went on a 14-2 run in the second quarter and took a 53-45 lead on an alley-oop layup by Young with 5:45 remaining in the opening half.
Stephenson’s 3-pointer with 3:44 to play in the second quarter put Indiana ahead 58-55, and the Pacers never trailed the rest of the way.
They led 68-62 at halftime and put together a 13-2 run in the third quarter to pull away. Oladipo made a jumper, and then grabbed a steal and scored on a fastbreak dunk. He later made a free throw to put the Pacers ahead 83-66 with 7:56 left in the third.
“You see what Oladipo can do. That’s what makes him tough,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “They run that high pick-and-roll and they stick the center in there and he can either pull up for the 3 or he’s quick to the basket. It’s tough on those bigs. We felt like we were there a lot, but he was still able to finish.”
KEY STAT
The Pacers had a season-best 54 rebounds, one better than their previous high of 53 – which came in their previous game, Friday’s win over Boston.
SERIES SCENE
Indiana has won two of the three meetings between the teams. The Pacers also won 115-97 on Dec. 4. The Knicks won 108-101 in the first meeting on Nov. 5. Indiana has won 11 of 12 home games against New York.
TIP-INS
Knicks: In his first game since being acquired from Denver in a trade, Emmanuel Mudiay had 14 points and 10 rebounds. … Courtney Lee and Kyle O’Quinn each scored 14 points. … Kanter also had 11 rebounds. … New York was 9 of 35 from 3-point range.
Pacers: General Manager Kevin Pritchard said they hope to learn the new date for last week’s scheduled game at New Orleans, which was postponed because of a leak at Smoothie King Center. … Oladipo also had six steals and was presented with his All-Star jersey just before tipoff.
UP NEXT
Knicks: At Philadelphia on Monday in the second night of a back-to-back.
Pacers: Visit Brooklyn on Wednesday.