Knicks run past Pacers in familiar fashion
The Pacers faded fast in the second half to lose again before heading right home where they will face the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
The Pacers took their current losing streak to new depths, with their 136-110 loss to the Knicks setting a new record for consecutive losses at 14 in a row. While the Pacers offense continues to show up strong, the collective ability to keep opponents under 130 points remains a struggle.
The Pacers were able to scrounge up 11 players off of their bloated injury list to play in MSG and regardless of the names or lineups, the offense looked as comfortable as usual in the Garden during the first half. The Pacers made 11 of 18 threes in the first half to keep pace with the Knicks, but gave up four points to end the first quarter and six points to end the second quarter which had them down eight at the half. The Knicks pushed the lead to 14 points after the third quarter as both teams cooled down from behind the arc. That lead to the Knicks putting the Pacers away for good in the fourth quarter with relative ease.
Jalen Brunson sat out for the Knicks with an ankle injury with no confirmation he was simply dodging the effort needed to play Aaron Nesmith. Josh Hart stepped up in his friend’s absence, making 11 of 12 shots including all 5 of his 3PAs to finish with 33 points. Two of those threes came in the final 30 second of the first half to expand the lead and send the Knicks to the break with plenty of good vibes.
Jarace Walker and Kobe Brown both started and lead the Pacers in minutes with Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam out. Walker finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Brown had a hot first half making 3 of 5 3-balls and scoring 11 of his 13 points.
Nesmith, Zubac and TJ McConnell all started and only played 9 minutes in the second half. McConnell finished with 10 points and 10 assists in 19 minutes for the game. Nesmith continued shooting it well from three, making 4 of 6 from deep to account for most of his 14 points. Zubac added his standard 11 points, 7 rebounds with a steal and 2 blocks.
Now what?
The Pacers complete the second game of a back-to-back at the Fieldhouse on Wednesday when they host the Trail Blazers for their annual visit. This will be the third game in four days for the Blazers after splitting games in Philly (loss) and Brooklyn (win) on Sunday and Monday. The Blazers have alternated between wins and losses over the last eight games as the appear locked into a play-in seed in the West, currently sitting in 10th, nine games ahead of 11th place Memphis, but only 1.5 games behind the eighth place Clippers with the Warriors in ninth.
Coming off the back-to-back, the Pacers injury report will again be chock full of questionable options with availability becoming more clear as the opening tip draws near. The Pacers maintain the worst record in the league with the Wizards and Nets keeping pace behind, actually ahead, with 16 and 17 wins, respectively. The Wiz have lost 13 consecutive games as both Washington and the Pacers face a challenging schedule for the remainder of the season.
After playing the Blazers, the Pacers are at San Antonio, at Orlando and they have the Lakers, Clippers and Heat at home with all three of those teams trending in a positive direction over their last 10 games.
Pacers vs. Trail Blazers
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 - 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: FanDuel Sports Network
Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan
Odds: Pacers +10.5
Projected Starters
Pacers: TJ McConnell, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Kobe Brown, Ivica Zubac
Trail Blazers: Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant, Donovan Clingan
Injuries
Pacers: Ivica Zubac (ankle) - questionable, Aaron Nesmith (ankle) - questionable, Andrew Nembhard (back) - questionable, TJ McConnell (hammy) - questionable, Obi Toppin (foot) - questionable, Quentin Jackson (calf) - questionable, Ben Sheppard (ankle) - questionable, Micah Potter (triceps) - questionable, Pascal Siakam (knee) - doubtful, Johnny Furphy (knee) - out, Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles) - out
Trail Blazers: Vit Krejci (calf) - questionable, Robert Williams III (knee) - questionable, Damian Lillard (Achilles) - out, Shaedon Sharpe (fibula) - out