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Jack, Pacers stun Knicks with late-game heroics

Jan 3, 2009 - 4:42 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The Indiana Pacers have plenty of experience with faltering down the stretch. Jarrett Jack ensured they would not add another meltdown to their record.

Jack scored 10 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and hit the deciding basket with ninth-tenths of a second left as the Pacers held off the New York Knicks, 105-103, on Friday night.

Jack scored the final six points for Indiana, hitting a 19-footer with 63 seconds left, a layup with 24 seconds remaining and capping his finest night as a Pacer by calmly sinking another 19-footer over Chris Duhon.

"The thing that kind of popped in my mind is the Philly game when I was going against Andre Miller," Jack said. "He was kind of sagging off me the whole time. I knew if I was going to get that situation again, I would rhythm up and try to shoot my jump shot."

Jack's clutch performance down the stretch allowed the Pacers to snap a four-game losing streak that had seen them lose by a combined 12 points.

"This was a good win for us," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "It's nice to battle and come from five down and, the last couple of minutes, Jarrett was absolutely terrific for us and really carried us down the stretch."

"We had the game in hand until the end," Indiana forward Danny Granger added. "They made a run and thanks to Jarrett Jack, we pulled it out because he was big for us down the stretch."

In this one, Indiana never trailed but never led by more than 11. The Pacers held a seven-point edge with 6:28 left, but New York used a 14-2 run over the next 3:28 to take a 98-93 lead on Nate Robinson's layup.

Al Harrington scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth for the Knicks and hit a driving layup with 1:17 left for a 100-99 lead. But after Jack's first 19-footer, he missed a long 3-pointer.

"It's just one of those games," Harrington said. "We kept fighting, fighting and fighting. Jarrett Jack killed us."

The Pacers seemingly appeared like they were going to pull it out following Jack's two big baskets. But they needed a third when Wilson Chandler drove in for a layup, was fouled by Troy Murphy and sank the foul shot for a 103-103 tie with 12 seconds left.

Jack's shot also would have been possible if the Pacers did not get the key defensive stops in the final minutes. After falling behind by five, Granger blocked two shots and Jack intercepted Duhon's pass.

"That huge for us," Granger said. "That's a big step for us as a team because so many times (we've struggled)."

After Jack hit his final shot of the night, Robinson missed a difficult 3-point attempt at the buzzer and the Knicks were dealt their seventh loss in eight games.

Granger added 22 points for Indiana, which scored 100 points for the 10th time in 11 games but also under 100 for just the 11th time.

Murphy collected 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost 15 times by less than double digits, including five by three points or fewer.

"We've been in close games all year so we're tested in this," Indiana forward Troy Murphy said. "We knew when they had a little lead, it was no big deal. We can come back because we've given up a (heck of a) lot of leads this year and we know that no lead is big enough."

David Lee added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who had snapped a season-high, six-game losing streak Tuesday in Charlotte but shot 43 percent (38-of-88) and committed 21 turnovers en route to their fourth consecutive home loss in this one.

"We did talk before (that) you are going to have to learn to somehow finish it off," New York coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We just didn't do that tonight."

Before heating up in the fourth, Jack scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers as Indiana took a 53-44 lead at halftime. The Pacers held three 11-point leads in the third and took an 83-77 edge into the fourth.