New York

Anthony, Knicks Rally From 13 Down to Beat Pacers 87-81

Carmelo Anthony scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Derrick Rose added 16 points and the Knicks overcame a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 87-81 on Tuesday night.

Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis exited in the third quarter with a left leg injury. Rookie Willy Hernangomez entered in his place and had 13 points and 16 rebounds.

New York had lost its last three games. Anthony also had 13 rebounds.

Paul George scored 22 points for the Pacers, who failed to build on their sixth-place lead in the Eastern Conference. Myles Turner had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Knicks trailed 59-46 with 9:07 left in the third after Turner's basket but closed out the quarter on an 18-3 run, capped by Anthony's 3-pointer that gave New York a 64-62 lead with 52 seconds left.

Anthony, who shot 1 for 7 in the first half, made a nifty play on George's failed drive and hit a 3-point shot on the other end, increasing the lead to 77-70 with 4:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Pacers closed within 84-79 on a jumper by Jeff Teague, but Anthony made three free throws after being fouled by George to increase the lead to 87-79 with 18 seconds left.

Indiana led 52-42 at halftime and made 20 of 41 from the field but was limited to 12 of 46 from the floor over the last two quarters.

TIP-INS

Pacers: Teague had nine points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Knicks: New York entered Tuesday's tilt 6 ½ games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Coach Jeff Hornacek wasn't too optimistic about his team's chances of sneaking into the postseason. "Until you're mathematically done, you're always going for it. But sometimes it's realistic, are you going to be able to make up seven games in 14?," he said. "Many, many things will have to happen for that to happen."

JOHNNY HOOPS

A moment of silence was held for former Knicks broadcaster John Andariese prior to tip-off. Andariese, who passed away Monday night at the age of 78, was also honored with a video tribute in the first quarter. The New York native, nicknamed "Johnny Hoops," starred at Fordham on the hardwood and spent over 40 years calling games for the Knicks on television and radio. In 2014, he received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

UP NEXT

Pacers: Return home Wednesday night to host Charlotte.

Knicks: Host cross-town rivals Brooklyn on Thursday night. New York leads the season series 2-1 but lost at Barclays Center on Sunday night, 120-112.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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