INDIANAPOLIS — Forward Paul George scored 25 of his 27 points in the second half and rookie forward Myles Turner finished with 24, helping the Indiana Pacers hold off the New York Knicks 108-105 on Wednesday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
New York, which got 22 points from rookie forward Kristaps Porzingis and 20 from guard Jose Calderon, had an opportunity to take the lead with 11.1 seconds to play, but Porzingis missed a 3-pointer. Turner turned around and made 1 of 2 free throws free throws after grabbing the rebound and being fouled.
The Knicks (24-35) had one last chance to tie, but forward Carmelo Anthony missed a 3-pointer with less than a second to play.
New York led 99-96 with 3:52 remaining, but Indiana (31-26) finished with a 12-6 run as George and Turner combined for 11 of the Pacers’ final 12 points.
The Pacers are 3-1 since the All-Star break.
Two 3-pointers from guard Langston Galloway pushed New York into an 88-84 lead with 8:53 remaining, but George scored eight of Indiana’s next 10 for a 94-93 lead with 5:36 remaining, prompting a Knicks timeout.
Indiana led by as many as 11 during the third quarter, but New York responded with a 15-2 run to take a 76-74 lead before the Pacers pulled even at 80 after a 3-point shot by George.
Calderon, who had 11 first-half points, scored the final five points of the second quarter to push the Knicks into a 54-52 lead through 24 minutes.
Forward Kyle O’Quinn came off the bench for 10 first-half points for New York, which made 7 of 11 from 3-point range and 11 of 13 free throws in the first two quarters.
George and Turner made only 5 of 20 shots from the field and collected only two rebounds each in the first half.
The Pacers outrebounded the Knicks 25-19 in first-half action, including six from guard Monta Ellis and five from center Ian Mahinmi.
Porzingis had 11 first-half points for New York.
NOTES: The Knicks were without F Cleanthony Early (right knee). … Indiana played without G Rodney Stuckey (sprained and bruised right foot). … The Knicks came in with a 10-18 road record and Pacers were 17-9 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. … Each team came in off a loss. … Indiana is 1-6 in overtime games, including Monday’s loss at Miami. … New York leads the NBA in free throw shooting at 80.8 percent and is eighth in blocks at 5.6 per game. … The Pacers are third in opponents’ 3-point percentage at 32.5 and are fourth in steals per game at 9.2 … Before Wednesday night’s game, Indiana had beaten New York six consecutive times in Indianapolis, dating to a Knicks victory on March 17, 2012. … The Pacers were 4-0 against New York last season … This was the first of three games this season between the Pacers and the Knicks.