Oladipo's hot shooting lifts Pacers past Knicks

[November 01, 2018]  Victor Oladipo gave the Indiana Pacers the lead for good with a fastbreak dunk off his own steal with 2:43 left in the fourth quarter Wednesday night, and he drained a pair of pivotal 3-pointers over the final 90 seconds as the Pacers beat the host New York Knicks, 107-101.

Domantas Sabonis hit all 12 of his shots from the field and finished with 30 points in just 21 minutes off the bench for the Pacers, who have won three of four. Oladipo scored 24 points while Thaddeus Young (13 points) and Bojan Bogdanovic (10 points) also reached double figures.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 37 points for the Knicks, who have lost six of seven. Three of those defeats have been to a trio of Eastern Conference contenders -- Indiana, the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks -- by a combined 19 points. Noah Vonteh and Allonzo Trier each had 14 points while Damyean Dotson added 13 points.
 

Oladipo scored 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter. His steal off Hardaway near midcourt and subsequent dunk provided the seventh and final lead change of an entertaining fourth quarter that also included four ties.

After Lance Thomas missed a go-ahead 3-pointer for the Knicks, Young hit a sky hook on the other end to extend the Pacers' lead to 100-97. Following a New York timeout, Hardaway missed a 3-point try, after which Oladipo sank a 3-pointer as the shot clock neared zero to give Indiana a 103-97 lead.

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo (4) reacts in the third quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Catalina Fragoso-USA TODAY Sports

The Knicks scored the next four points on a pair of free throws by Hardaway and a layup by Trier. Bogdanovic airballed a 3-pointer on the Pacers' next trip, but Young leaped over the baseline to save the ball and passed while in midair to Oladipo, who beat the shot clock again with another 3-pointer with 21.6 seconds left.

The Knicks missed a pair of 3-point attempts before Oladipo sealed the game by hitting one of two free throws with 4.8 seconds left.

--Field Level Media

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