The Indiana Pacers held off the defending champion New York Knicks 106-104.
The Knicks came back from 14 down to tie it at 87 early in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers answered with a 15-2 run to lead 102-89 with 6:36 left. The Knicks cut it to 2 in the final seconds. Pascal Siakam missed 2 free throws with the Pacers up 4 and 23.4 seconds left, Mikal Bridges’ 20-foot pull-up jumper made it 106-104 with 10.2 seconds left, and OG Anunoby stole a pass from Siakam with 2.8 seconds to go. After a timeout, Karl-Anthony Towns missed a 16-foot turnaround fadeaway at the buzzer that would have tied it.
Ivica Zubac had 12 points (all 12 in the paint) and 13 rebounds.
For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson had 33 points (16 in the third quarter) and 11 assists, and Towns added 23 points, 15 rebounds and 3 steals. Brunson made both of his pull-up jumpers. The Pacers had held him to 8 for 23 on pull-up jumpers since 2024-25.
The Knicks took 18 of their 91 shots at the rim (20%), the lowest share of their season. They had averaged 31%. They gave up 17 offensive rebounds, about 5 more than usual for the shots the Pacers missed. The Pacers outscored the Knicks 50-30 in the paint.