The word of the day, not to mention the evening, was “energy.”
The Pacers had it for a quarter, lost it for the better part of two quarters, then got it back — too late — in the final quarter of their 109-103 loss to New York at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday. So here they are, owners of a three-game losing streak that dropped their record to sea level (22-22) and searching for a way to swim again. As opposed to treading water or, worse, taking on water.
“We started off with the right energy, then we kind of let up in the second quarter,” Myles Turner said, providing the most fundamental game summary.
The “why” of that letup is the question. It's the old nature vs. nurture question.
It's this laid-back team's nature to relax when either the season or the game is going well, just as it has made a habit of bearing down when faced with a crisis.
It's the only team in the NBA to overcome a 20-point-or-more deficit twice this season, and it has a 7-2 record in the games following a double-figure loss. But winning teams play hard when life is good, too.
The trip to London doesn't seem to have helped, either. The Pacers had a quick turnaround from that journey, playing a home game a couple of days after returning home and then leaving the next day for a five-day Western Conference road trip. They returned home in the middle of the night on Sunday and were still getting their bearings Monday evening.
After this game, some of the players were comparing notes on when they had awakened that day. Thad Young, who had an off-night with five points on 2-of-6 shooting, said he had gotten out of bed at 3:30 in afternoon. Another player said 1:30.
“I think we feel like we've been going since we went to London,” said Jeff Teague, who had a sub-par game with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, along with seven assists and three turnovers. “It's been tough, but that's the hand we were dealt.”
Nate McMillan tried a different starting lineup against the Knicks, replacing the slumping Glenn Robinson III with veteran C.J. Miles. Results were mixed. Miles contributed to the fast start, but wound up hitting just 4-of-14 shots. Robinson played better than he had in a week, hitting all three shots and adding a couple of steals off the bench.
McMillan said he'll stick with the same starting lineup for Thursday's game at Minnesota, but admitted he's still searching for the right combinations – hardly what any coach wants to be doing 44 games into the season.
“We really are,” he said.
The primary object of his hunt?
“Some energy,” he said. “Something to spark us.”
“We keep pushing buttons. We keep talking about it. You've got to have it. You've just got to have it. That urgency.”
Execution would help, too. Turner, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, once again outplaying the Knicks' second-year forward Kristaps Porzingis (eight points on 3-of-11 shooting) picked up two quick fouls and was limited to 28 minutes overall. It would have been handy to have him around longer, such as the 38 1/2 minutes of work put in by Paul George, who had 31 points but hit just 3-of-10 shots.
George scored 12 of his points in the first eight minutes, and eight more in the final quarter, when the Pacers overcame a 16-point lead to force a tie with 42 seconds remaining on his two foul shots.
The Pacers limited New York to 41 percent shooting and forced five turnovers in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get the stop they needed most. The Knicks went to Carmelo Anthony on their next possession, and traded George as a defender for Teague with a couple of screens. Anthony, who finished with 26 points, hit a 14-foot baseline jumper over Teague's outstretched hand with 23.4 seconds remaining.
“We don't want that matchup,” McMillan said. “They did a good job of screening and forcing the switch. They did a good job of executing. That pick and roll is very similar to what we do with Paul.
“We've got to go down and help. We were slow on that.”
Said Teague: “He shot it so quick, I don't think there was anything anybody could do.”
The Pacers failed to answer when an anxious Turner let a post feed slip through his hands, off his leg and out of bounds. Turner contributed six points, three rebounds, two blocked shots, and some refreshing raw emotion in the final seven minutes, but his only turnover of the game proved costly as the Knicks closed out from the foul line.
“I just dropped the ball,” Turner said. “That's the only way to put it. It sucks. Just have to move on.”
As do the Pacers, who play nine of their next 14 games at home, before and after the All-Star break. They can change lineups or adjust strategy all they want, but the key to a turnaround is simpler than that.
“You just have to lock in and get the job done,” Turner said. “You can't just pull energy, you have to go out there and do it.”
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