NEW YORK: Carmelo Anthony busted loose to score 32 points and New York shut down Indiana in the final 15 minutes to post a 105-79 win that evened their Eastern Conference playoff series at one game each.
Anthony, who came into game two shooting just 37 percent in the postseason, scored 22 points in the fourth quarter against the mistake-prone Pacers at Madison Square Garden.
“I just thought in that fourth quarter our pace offensively was like old times again,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.
The Pacers shot just 25 percent in the fourth and were hampered by turnovers, committing a total of 21 that New York converted into 32 points.
The second round playoff series now switches to Indianapolis for Saturday’s game three at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Knicks reversed a two point deficit by going on a dynamic 36-4 run that led to a 98-68 lead with 3:30 left to play.
During that 12-minute stretch, the Pacers failed to make a single field goal. They missed on 14 consecutive attempts from the floor until Orlando Johnson drained one from beyond the arc with just over three minutes left.
Iman Shumpert added 15 points on seven-of-11 shooting to help the Knicks rebound from a game one loss, 102-95. Raymond Felton also scored 14 points in the victory in front of a crowd of 19,033.
Paul George led Indiana with 20 points but had only five in the second half. — AFP