The New York Knicks know they shouldn’t have any reason to lose focus Tuesday night.
But the last three games serve as a reminder that staying on task has been easier said than done for the Knicks, who aim to extend their winning streak to four games when they host the Indiana Pacers in the final matchup this season between the longtime Eastern Conference rivals.
Both teams were off Monday after playing Sunday, when the host Knicks overcame their biggest deficit of the season to edge the Golden State Warriors 110-107. The visiting Pacers tied a franchise record by suffering their 13th straight defeat after squandering an early double-digit lead in a 134-123 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Despite facing the skidding Warriors — who were missing stars Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green as well as starters Moses Moody and Al Horford, all of whom are injured — the Knicks fell behind 46-25 in the second quarter before taking the lead for good at 81-80 on Mitchell Robinson’s putback with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
The Knicks, who are in third place in the Eastern Conference, never pulled away in the fourth as the Warriors moved within one point three times in the final 2:04.
Golden State, treading in ninth place in the Western Conference, squandered a chance to tie the score in the waning seconds when Gui Santos’ pass intended for Quinten Post glanced off his hands. New York guard Landry Shamet collected the ball before running out the clock.
It was the third consecutive close game for the Knicks against a team either aiming for a play-in spot or long since focused on the lottery. New York recovered from an 18-point deficit to beat the Utah Jazz, 134-117, on Wednesday, then outlasted the Pacers 101-92 on Friday night.
The Jazz are 14th in the West while the Pacers are last in the East. But Indiana, which beat the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals last spring, is 1-2 this season against New York with a 114-113 loss on Dec. 18 and a 137-134 overtime win on Feb. 10.
“We can play better,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “I know for myself and every man in that locker room, every person in that locker room, expects more. And somehow, someway, we’ve got to figure it out.”
The Pacers have been unofficially in evaluation mode since June 22, when star guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles during Indiana’s 103-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
The 13-game losing streak is the second this season for the Pacers, who also dropped 13 straight from Dec. 12 through Jan. 6. Prior to this season, Indiana hadn’t lost 12 straight since the 1988-89 campaign.
The injuries and challenges have continued to pile up for the Pacers, who played without their top two remaining scorers — Pascal Siakam (right knee) and Andrew Nembhard (right ankle) — Sunday night.
In the absence of the 6-foot-8 Siakam, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle gave Jalen Slawson — a 6-foot-7 forward on a two-way contract — his first NBA start on Sunday and tasked him with defending two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Swanson scored three points in 27 minutes for the Pacers, who led by 10 points early in the second quarter and held a 65-62 halftime lead even though Antetokounmpo recorded a double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) in the first half.
“It’s tough — it’s like, hey, congratulations, you get an NBA start,” Carlisle said with a grin. “And by the way, you’re guarding Giannis.”
