By Sam Speigelman
The Knicks overcame a poor shooting performance with a dominant defensive effort against the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers in a 92-86 victory Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks shot just 39 percent from the floor, including less than 25 percent from beyond the arc, but stymied Paul George and took the Pacers (50-18) out of their element in the paint to extend the season-high win streak to seven.
Finally, the Knicks are playing how they expected to all season long.
In the first game since Phil Jackson was officially named team president, Carmelo Anthony proved just how valuable he can be for the franchise moving forward. Playing like it was postseason battle, ‘Melo scored a game-high 34 points and shot 52 percent from the floor.
He received help from Amar’e Stoudemire, whose jump shot translated to 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Tyson Chandler not only shined defensively against Pacers center Roy Hibbert, but led all players with 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
“This stretch is the best (Anthony and Stoudemire) have been playing together,” J.R. Smith said of his teammates. “They’ve been unbelievable.”
“Amar’e is able to play minutes now,” Coach Mike Woodson said in reference to Stoudemire’s 29 minutes Wednesday. “His stats are off the chain.”
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