This unpredictable New York Knicks season carries at least one certainty: it will not end with a loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Knicks officially ensured that on Tuesday night, as they took the final part of their season series with their lasting rivals by a 136-110 final at Madison Square Garden. New York (45-25) took three of the four meetings against the team that has ended each of their last two tours.
On a night where “Roommates Show” co-host Jalen Brunson was a late scratch due a minor ankle ailment, Josh Hart put up his best offensive showing as a Knick, missing only one shot on 13 tries (including a perfect 5-of-5 from three) en route to a game-best 33 points.
Hart set a metropolitan landmarks with their efforts: he became the first Knick to reach a triple-decade in scoring while shooting at least 90 percent since Bernard King in 1984 (half of an exclusive club with Walt Bellamy and Willis Reed).
It was the one thing that could overshadow a 10-of-13 outing from OG Anunoby while Karl-Anthony Towns helped the Knicks pull away with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double. While Mikal Bridges continued to struggle from the field, Jose Alvarado took advantage of his first Manhattan start with 16 points and 10 assists, uniting with Hart and Anunoby to hit all but five of the Knicks’ 18 three-pointers.
While the Knicks were eventually able to create a one-sided score, the pesky Pacers kept with a theme of playing the Knicks close. With none of the first three meetings (including last week’s 101-92 win for the Knicks in Indianapolis) decided by double-figures, Indiana never let the Knicks get ahead by more than seven for most of the first half and even threatened a pull away of their own when Jarace Walker hit a three that put them up six with just over five minutes left in the second period.
Appropriately, Hart’s sweetest evening came on a night where a good part of the thousands gathered at MSG were adorned in St. Patrick’s Day shirts distributed by his favorite candy Mike & Ike. His late efforts helped change the course of the game: back-to-back threes from his hands capped off a 21-7 run to end the half, one where Alvarado contributed seven points. Hart then hit a three at the top of the third to create the first double-figure lead of the night.
From there, metropolitan sanity reigned: Indiana (15-54) never got any closer than six after that as a three from Towns created a permanent double-figure lead. The third wound up being a perfect Irish goodbye for Hart, who hit his final five shots and played a role in 23 of the Knicks’ 33 points created through 14 points of his own, a couple of assists, and rebounds that created New York possessions. The merciless Knicks then put up a fourth quarter romp that allowed their reserves to fire away. Even Bridges found a slight groove, hitting two threes and putting up a team-best plus-12 in the frame.
Walker would lead the Tyrese Haliburton-less Pacers with 16 points while former Knick Obi Topping had 15 on 6-of-8. The loss set dubious Indiana history, as the Pacers’ active 14-game losing streak is now the longest on the franchise ledgers, passing a mark of 13 previously set between December and January.
The Knicks will stay stationed in the city despite hitting the road, as they’ll face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night at Barclays Center (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
