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National Basketball Association
New York 106, Indiana 102
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 2, 2021
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Officials: #81 Simone Jelks, #58 Josh Tiven, #68 Jacyn Goble
Attendance: N/A

Austin Rivers hit a 3-pointer that gave the New York Knicks the lead for good late in the fourth quarter Saturday night and added the clinching layup with 35.3 seconds remaining as the visiting Knicks surprised the Indiana Pacers, 106-102.

Rivers, who played his second game for the Knicks after missing the first four games due to a groin injury, scored 15 points off the bench for New York, which has won three of four.

RJ Barrett scored a team-high 25 points and was 4 of 5 on 3-point attempts after entering the game with 21 straight misses from beyond the arc over his previous four games. The Knicks hit 44.4 percent (12 of 27) of their 3-pointers Saturday, two nights after shooting a franchise record-low 8.3 percent (3 of 36) from the 3-point line.

Julius Randle finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Elfrid Payton had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Mitchell Robinson went of 8 of 10 shooting and netted 16 points.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 33 points for the Pacers, who have lost two of three. Domantas Sabonis (13 points, 13 rebounds) had his sixth double-double in as many games to start the season, while Myles Turner scored 17 points. Victor Oladipo finished with 16 points, and Justin Holiday added 12 points off the bench.

It was an uneventful first half in which neither team led by more than six points, and the Pacers' 51-50 lead at intermission yielded a wild and entertaining final 24 minutes.

The Knicks took their biggest lead at 66-56 by opening the period with a 16-5 run that ended with Reggie Bullock draining a 3-pointer. The Pacers responded by scoring the next eight points, including five by Turner, to begin a quarter-ending 26-16 surge that concluded with Holiday hitting a game-tying 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

The Pacers took their biggest second-half lead with a 9-1 run in which Sabonis hit a layup to put Indiana ahead 96-93 with 4:29 left. But the Knicks scored the next nine points, including Rivers' go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:23 left and a steal and dunk by Randle that extended New York's lead to 100-96 with 1:32 remaining.

Oladipo and Rivers then traded errant 3-pointers before Robinson blocked a 3-pointer by Brogdon. Rivers hit a fast break layup and Barrett iced the win by sinking four free throws.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New York   Indiana
RJ Barrett 25 Scoring Malcolm Brogdon 33
Julius Randle 8 Assists Malcolm Brogdon 7
Julius Randle 11 Rebounds Domantas Sabonis 13
RJ Barrett 5 Free Throws Made Victor Oladipo 8
Julius Randle 2 Steals Malcolm Brogdon 2
Mitchell Robinson 2 Blocks Aaron Holiday 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New York 106 50.6 12-27 10-13 23 51 3 4 16
Indiana 102 40.5 19-50 15-18 22 32 4 6 9
Upcoming Games
  • Indiana will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Pacers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • New York will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Knicks have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.