Knicks Beat Indiana 123-119

After what started out as a very ugly night, the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 123-119 at the Garden.

Nate the Great Robinson put up a stellar performance this evening, scoring 41 points and providing tons of energy and intensity (as usual) on the floor.

The score remained close throughout the majority of the game, but up until the 4th quarter the level of play was flat and frankly hard to watch. Both teams struggled to shoot from the outside, and what was supposed to be an NBA competition looked more like the ball you'd see being played on a Saturday afternoon at the park.

The action finally started to really pick up in the final few minutes of the game. The Knicks showed signs of pulling away here and there, but Indiana just wouldn't go away. With less then a minute to play the Pacers pulled ahead by 2 points. No worries for #4, who got the game all tied up again with a lay-up shortly after. Then, with around 30 seconds left, an Indiana inbound attempt was picked off by, you guessed it, KryptoNate, and the Knicks found themselves ahead by 121-119. A couple of made free throws later and New York sealed the victory.

Al Trautwig put it best in the post game show, saying that Nate single handedly took over this game. Aside from Robinson though, David Lee posted yet another double-double, and Al Harrington posted an quiet 27 points. As for the new Knickerbockers, Wilcox and Hughes struggled to make their presence felt tonight. Hughes was getting booed pretty much the entire game by the Garden faithful (sometimes erroneously), but both acquisitions were able to make a couple of plays in the second half which was nice to see. Remember that Hughes is rusty after spending most of this season riding the bench in Chicago, and Wilcox will need time adjusting to the Knicks high paced offense. You have to think that after a few more games the two will begin to mesh better with this team.

All in all a very sloppy win for New York, but one I will definitely take. It was a game the Knicks needed to win, and while you can't be pleased with the way it happened fans should be happy with any "W" their able to get. That being said, D'Antoni's boys cannot afford another performance like tonight against Orlando on Wednesday.