Pacers top Knicks to clinch No. 7 seed

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[April 13, 2016]  INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers began the 2015-16 season at Toronto.

Now, the Pacers will open the Eastern Conference playoffs at Toronto after Indiana earned the East's No. 7 seed Tuesday night with a 102-90 victory against New York, coupled with the Miami Heat's 99-93 victory at Detroit.

Toronto is the No. 2 seed in the East and will host Game 1 against No. 7 seed Indiana. Detroit (43-38) will be the No. 8 seed and will open the playoffs at No. 1 seed Cleveland.

The Pacers overcame New York's 36-point first quarter and defeated the Knicks, led by 19 points each from Paul George and George Hill.

Indiana (44-37) outscored New York by 19 points during the final three quarters to finish the regular season 26-15 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

"Teams hit their stride at different times in the season, and we were hoping to enter the playoffs with some momentum," said Indiana coach Frank Vogel, whose team is 5-1 in its six most recent games with a Wednesday contest at Milwaukee yet to play.

"We got a great game tonight from George Hill, who we ask to play his game and be aggressive. He does whatever he is asked."

Ian Mahinmi added 14 points, Myles Turner had 13 and Rodney Stuckey scored 10 for Indiana.

New York's Derrick Williams led all scorers with 21 points. Jerian Grant added 18 and Arron Afflalo had 13 for the Knicks, who finished the season with a 32-50 record.

The Pacers shot 51.3 percent from the field (41 of 80) and outrebounded the Knicks 41-37.

"The Knicks came out hot and negated what we were trying to do, but then our defensive pressure got better, and we were able to get control of the game defensively," George said. "In the second half, we got some stops and got some easy opportunities, a lot of transition plays."

A Hill 3-pointer and driving layup gave Indiana a 62-59 lead with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter, prompting a New York timeout. The Pacers used a 9-0 run to expand the lead to 71-64.

A Turner jumper with 51.9 seconds to go in the third quarter gave Indiana a 79-66 lead. At the end of the quarter, the Pacers were up 79-71.

In the first half, the Knicks made 10 of their first 12 shots from the field on their way to building a 54-53 lead through 24 minutes.

"In the second half, we didn't do a good job of stopping their penetration," Knicks coach Kurt Rambis said. "They were allowed to penetrate, and that created confusion in our defense and allowed them to get open scoring opportunities. Paul George got himself going, and a lot of that had to do with our execution."

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New York played without Carmelo Anthony, who was rested. The Knicks finished the season 0-10 when Anthony did not play.

New York led 36-29 through the first quarter, shooting 65.2 percent from the floor (15 of 23), including 5 of 5 from Williams, who finished the opening half with 15 points. Grant added 13 points for the Knicks.

"There are a lot of good players on this team, so there is a lot of potential," New York center Robin Lopez said, "We do not always play up to that potential because we are not consistent enough. But we have a lot to look forward to."

Indiana got 12 points and six rebounds from Mahinmi during the first two quarters and 11 points and four assists from George.

The Pacers shot 51.3 percent from the field (20 of 39) in the first half and were 10 of 14 from the free throw line. Indiana out-rebounded New York 20-19 during the first 24 minutes.

NOTES: The Knicks played without G Jose Calderon (right quad contusion), F/C Kristaps Porzingis (strained right shoulder) and F Lance Thomas (sprained left MCL) in their season finale. ... Indiana G/F C.J. Miles is battling a sore right shoulder. ... New York is coming off Sunday's 93-89 loss to Toronto and entered 4-6 in its 10 most recent games. ... New York was 22-22 after defeating Utah on Jan. 20 but came to Indiana 10-27 since. ... The Pacers came in having beaten Brooklyn on Sunday night and are 6-4 in their past 10 games. ... The Knicks are the NBA's best free-throw shooting team at 80.4 percent. They are seventh in opponents' 3-point field goal percentage (34.1) and seventh in turnovers per game (13.4). ... The Pacers are third in opponents' 3-point field goal percentage (33.4) and fourth in steals per game (9.1). ... Indiana was looking to sweep the season series for a second consecutive year and for just the third time in 40 years. ... Before Tuesday, the Pacers had beaten the Knicks six straight times.

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