Pacers at Knicks
The Indiana Pacers have spent the last four months working to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race and finally are making their way up the standings. The Pacers will try to win their fifth straight and hang onto the No. 8 spot in the East when they visit the lowly New York Knicks on Saturday. The Knicks are in a race against the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves for the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery.
Indiana had little trouble with New York in a 105-82 home win Wednesday and followed it up by knocking off the Chicago Bulls to finish out a perfect four-game homestand. That marked the 10th win in the last 12 games for the Pacers, who allowed an average of 81.5 points and held each of the four opponents under 40 percent shooting on the homestand. The Knicks won back-to-back games to close out February but began March with a pair of losses by a combined 61 points.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE PACERS (27-34): Indiana’s win and Miami’s loss Friday vaulted the Pacers into a tie for the No. 8 spot, and they are a half-game behind the seventh-place Charlotte Hornets. Indiana held a 24-point lead at the half against the Knicks on Wednesday and got three 3-pointers apiece from George Hill and C.J. Miles to lead an efficient offense. The team still is hoping Paul George can return from a broken leg soon, but his replacement at small forward, Solomon Hill, led the way with 16 points against the Bulls to bust out of a 3-of-10 slump over the previous two games.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (12-48): New York is building for the future, and first-year coach Derek Fisher is trying to put a foundation in place over the final month. “It’s just important for us that even though our record is what it is — right now it looks like we don’t have quite a direction just yet — it is really about what habits are we building,” Fisher told ESPNNewYork.com. “What kind of foundation are we building, so that as the right decision (is made) at the right time, or different guys start to show up, we are actually at a place as an organization where we can make the most of it. I think that is real important for us.” Veteran Andrea Bargnani is trying to make himself a part of that future and scored 25 points at the Pacers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New York F Lou Amundson has shot 50 percent or better from the floor in each of the last seven games.
2. Pacers C Ian Mahinmi is coming off his second double-double of the season.
3. Indiana took the previous two meetings this season by an average of 22 points.