Indiana claimed a 106-104 victory against New York in the NBA Cup on Wednesday, earning its first win of the tournament while leaving the defending champions winless, Basket USA reported.
Playing without Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers secured their second win, which marked their strongest performance of the season. Facing the Knicks, Indiana overturned an early 18-9 deficit. The hosts relied on a balanced attack that produced 29 points from their reserves, featuring contributions from Jay Huff and Obi Toppin.
Jay Huff contributed eight points off the bench during a first-quarter push to trim the margin to 27-26, while TJ McConnell handed out seven assists in just 17 minutes on the floor.
The dynamic continued with a 13-2 run fueled by an aggressive Ivica Zubac to push the score to 50-38. Aaron Nesmith and Pascal Siakam led the team with 18 and 19 points respectively.
Jalen Brunson paced the Knicks with 33 points and 11 assists, steering his team back from a 14-point deficit at 58-44. The guard struck twice from 3-point range, scored from mid-range, and delivered two assists to Mikal Bridges and Tyler Kolek to close the gap to 58-49.
New York chipped away after halftime behind a 10-2 run marked by consecutive 3-pointers from Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns to make it 65-60. Miles McBride scored twice in a row to spark a 13-2 surge that brought the visitors back into contention, before Jalen Brunson eventually trimmed the margin to one point heading into the fourth quarter at 85-84.
Josh Hart endured a scoreless outing for the visitors, finishing 0 for 4 from the field with five rebounds and four assists across 23 minutes.
A 3-pointer by Andrew Nembhard, drives from Pascal Siakam and Kelly Oubre, and a subsequent dunk by Aaron Nesmith stretched Indiana’s lead to 102-89 before the game’s final seconds grew tense. Pascal Siakam scored on a fadeaway shot over Jalen Brunson to push the score to 106-98 before missing two free throws with the clock winding down.
A subsequent turnover on an inbound pass between Siakam and Nembhard gave New York possession with a chance to tie, as the trio of Brunson, Bridges, and Towns narrowed the gap to 106-104.
Karl-Anthony Towns missed a mid-range jumper at the buzzer, sealing the two-point win for the hosts.
