Pacers at Knicks
Paul George is back and the Indiana Pacers are looking to make a late
dash for the playoffs as they visit the New York Knicks on Tuesday. The
Pacers are one game behind the eighth-place Boston Celtics with five
games to play and are counting on George to supply an extra boost.
George returned from a broken leg that sidelined him eight months to score 13 points in 15 minutes in Sunday’s 112-89 trouncing of the Miami Heat. The Knicks continue to experience a down season and halted a nine-game losing streak by notching a 101-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. New York has lost three times to Indiana this season and has averaged 83.3 points in the defeats with a high outing of 86. The Pacers beat the Knicks by more than 20 points in both of their home meetings but the margin was just 92-86 when they met in New York on March 7.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (Indiana), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE PACERS (34-43): The presence of George increased Indiana’s energy level as the Pacers rolled to a convincing win over Miami, which is one of the other teams battling for the final playoff spot. George had been pushing for a return and helped seal the victory with back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. “We’ve been seeing him play for five weeks, so what we saw out there isn’t any different from what we’ve been seeing,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel told reporters. “He hasn’t led the league in scoring, but he’s been the best two-way player in the game, and I think we saw a lot of that in terms of how he impacted both ends.”
ABOUT THE KNICKS (15-62): Center Andrea Bargnani had a stellar performance against the 76ers with 25 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots to continue his strong late-season play. Bargnani is a free agent after the season and he has scored more than 20 points in three of the last five games. “He’s an extremely talented player – the injuries really limited his ability to reach his ceiling or get closer to it,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher told reporters. “So whatever the future holds in that regard, I think the way he is finishing this season is not only showing us but showing other teams as well that he is a very capable player still at this point of his career.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Indiana is looking to sweep the Knicks for the first time since 2007-08.
2. Knicks PG Shane Larkin is averaging 14.5 points, eight rebounds and 4.5 assists over the last two contests.
3. Pacers F Luis Scola scored a season-best 23 points against Miami and is averaging 11.5 rebounds over the past two games.