GAME 5 Pacers 88 Knicks 79
INDIANAPOLIS – Unless they perform a miracle across these next few days, the Knicks will have all summer to remember last night’s second quarter from hell, when all their championship dreams came tumbling down amid the ear-splitting roar of Conseco Fieldhouse.
It was a second quarter of all-time playoff futility, during which
they missed 14 of 16 shots, scored an NBA playoff record-low eight points and saw their incredible 18-point bulge dwindle into a two-point halftime deficit, 42-40.
The Knicks, battered to the bone with injuries, hadn’t scored as few points in a playoff quarter in 17 years, and they picked the worst time to collapse after putting together a first quarter for the playoff ages that had them smelling Jack Nicholson’s after-shave lotion.
But those first 12 minutes in which they built a 15-point lead and looked like they’d be headed for L.A. next week turned into one of the franchise’s ultimate teases.
The Pacers carried their 25-8 second quarter into the second half and won Game 5, 88-79, to go up 3-2 in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final classic.
The Knick season could end as early at tomorrow night, when they host Game 6 at the Garden. Game 7, if it gets that far, would be Sunday at Conseco, where the Knicks are now 0-for-5.
Patrick Ewing returned to the lineup after a two-game absence but another Knick, Larry Johnson, was added to the bulky injury report, with yet-another foot problem – plantar fasciaitis.
Johnson played hurt, as did Ewing, Marcus Camby (bruised knee) and Latrell Sprewell (broken foot). All four likely would have been sidelined if this were a regular-season game.
But it was anything but. It was their season. Now the Knicks must win two straight versus the Pacers to get back to The Finals.
Allan Houston, who had a huge game with a team-high 25 points, got the Knicks within 76-70 with left-corner 15-foot jumper with 4:11 left. But Sam Perkins answered with a three from the left corner to jack the lead to 79-70 with 3:48 left.
Then backup point guard Travis Best (24 points) put the finishing touches on the minor Knick comeback with another 3-point bomb from the right side with Charlie Ward lunging in his face. The basket gave the Pacers a 82-71 lead with 2:33 remaining.
Ewing finished with 13 points – nine in that blazing first quarter – on 5-of-10 shooting.
Two Camby free throws with .3 seconds left in the third cut the margin to 63-55 entering the fourth quarter. The Pacers had built their lead to as high as 12 points, 63-51, after Dale Davis made 1 of 2 free throws with 2:39 left in the period.
Indiana point guard Mark Jackson, flashing a cross sign with his arms throughout the game, hit for eight points in the third, posting up effectively to open up breathing room.
After Houston drained a pull-up 3-pointer from straight away to give the Knicks a 18-point lead, 37-19, with 10:42 left in the second quarter, the bottom dropped out for the Knicks – perhaps on the season – with that nightmare second quarter.
After Houston’s three, the Knicks scored just three points the rest of the period and the Pacers closed them out on a devastating 23-3 run to take a 42-40 lead at halftime.
The crumbling Knicks beat the old playoff record of nine second-quarter points set by San Antonio in 1994.
During the second quarter, the Knicks went eight straight possessions without a score while they got murdered on the offensive glass. The Knicks were burned on the offensive boards, 10-3, as Indiana rang up 15 second-chance points to the Knicks’ four.
During one grisly sequence, Davis pulled down two offensive boards on one possession, leading to a third-chance 3-pointer from the left wing by Best that rattled in to bring the Pacers within 40-37 with 1:05 remaining.
After Houston got called for an offensive foul, Perkins tied the score at 40 as he buried a 3-pointer from the left wing with 32.9 seconds left.
Chris Childs followed with an airball 3-point try, and Best gave the Pacers their first lead of the game, hitting two free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining until intermission. The half ended fittingly with Sprewell having his shot blocked by Best at the buzzer.
The first quarter was a Knick masterpiece. They hit 12 of 19 shots and made all five free throws to build a 32-17 lead before a stunned crowd.
Ewing made his final decision on playing after taking warm-ups for about eight minutes. Ewing, bothered by a tendinitis-wracked right foot, walked to the bench, took a seat while his teammates continued to shoot. As coach Jeff Van Gundy walked onto the floor, Ewing shot Van Gundy an affirmative glance to tell him he was a go.