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The Indiana Pacers dropped their fourth game in five tries on Sunday when they failed to keep pace with the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. There were actually some signs of life and hope for reasserting the defense in the first round of the playoffs.
Obviously, falling behind by 20 points in the first half, again, wasn't among the positives. Nor was the return of the turnover monster which hit the Pacers for 26 donations and 33 points at the other end. But by the end of the day the Pacers could officially start focusing on their first round playoff preparation thanks to Brooklyn losing in Toronto.
With two regular season games remaining, George Hill will sit out, as will the rest of the starters for at least parts of the final games. David West is a player that normally likes to keep playing to maintain his game rhythm, but his minutes won't be too heavy.
The team is in Boston for their off day and won't practice. Instead, Frank Vogel plans to take the team on a field trip to Fenway Park to take in the madness of the Patriots Day game played during the Boston Marathon. A little team bonding for the blue and gold as team starts closing ranks to find their game for the playoffs this weekend.
Check out the links:
Pacers at Knicks - Box score and highlights
Game Rewind: Pacers 80, Knicks 90 | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
Pacers lose again but clinch third seed - 1070 The Fan
Pacers notebook: With playoff seeding locked up, Vogel plans to rest some players | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
Knicks clinch second seed in Eastern Conference, matchup with Celtics - NYPOST.com
Knicks beat Pacers and clinch No. 2 seed in East - AP
Carmelo Anthony, NY Knicks need healthy Tyson Chandler but not Amar'e Stoudemire to contend with Miami Heat and LeBron James - NY Daily News
Knicks clinch No. 2 seed with win over Pacers, Carmelo Anthony sits in 4th quarter with bruised shoulder - NY Daily News
Brooklyn Nets lose to Toronto Raptors 93-87 and will finish season as fourth seed in NBA Eastern Conference playoffs - NYPOST.com
Pacers: Do you think Vogel should rest his starters? | Pacers Insider