Indiana’s extra chances leave the Knicks one shot short

The Knicks made six more 3-pointers than Indiana on Friday and still needed one last jumper to force overtime. Karl-Anthony Towns missed it at the buzzer. The Pacers won 106-104, leaving New York 6-6 after a second consecutive loss.

Jalen Brunson supplied 33 points and 11 assists. Towns added 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges scored 18 on 8-for-12 shooting. Those were substantial performances in a game New York repeatedly pulled back within reach. The damage accumulated in the chances Indiana kept and the free throws it converted.

The difference around the rim and at the line

Indiana collected 17 offensive rebounds to the Knicks’ eight. Ivica Zubac had nine himself, one more than New York’s entire total, while finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds. An offensive rebound does not automatically produce a basket, but it prevents a defensive possession from ending. The Knicks gave Indiana nine more of those opportunities.

Both teams made 39 field goals. New York’s 16 3-pointers, compared with Indiana’s ten, gave it a six-point advantage from the field. Indiana erased that edge at the foul line, making 18 of 25 free throws while the Knicks went 10-for-13. Eight more made free throws supplied the arithmetic behind a two-point final margin.

That is a more useful explanation than treating this as a night when the Knicks simply failed to score. Brunson made half of his 22 attempts. Towns hit three 3-pointers, Bridges two. New York generated enough offense to stay close; it did not consistently finish defensive possessions or match Indiana’s production at the line.

A comeback that ran out of time

The Knicks trailed 85-74 before a 10-0 run brought them within one at the end of the third quarter. Indiana rebuilt the lead. Pascal Siakam’s 15-foot jumper with 1:49 remaining made it 106-98. He finished with 19 points, followed by Aaron Nesmith with 18 and Kelly Oubre Jr. with 16.

New York still found a route back. Brunson’s driving layup with 26 seconds left cut the deficit to four. Siakam then missed both free throws with 23 seconds remaining, and Bridges scored with ten seconds left to make it 106-104.

An Indiana turnover with 2.8 seconds remaining gave the Knicks a final chance. Towns’ potential tying 15-footer did not fall. The ending was close enough to turn on one shot, but the earlier rebounding and foul-line gaps had made that shot necessary.

Twelve games, an even record

The title-defense tracker now contains 12 completed games, a 6-6 record and a cumulative scoring margin of plus 73. Its earlier three-, five- and ten-game comparisons remain dated checkpoints. The current record reflects two losses since the four-game winning streak that brought New York to 6-4.

The next scheduled game is Sunday, November 15, at Toronto, at 6 p.m. Eastern. The immediate task is specific: finish possessions after forcing a miss and reduce the extra trips that allow an opponent to survive a better shooting night from New York.