It felt like the late 1990s at Madison Square Garden yesterday.
The opponent didn’t reach 50 points until well into the third quarter, the Knicks were comfortably ahead despite a far-from-stellar shooting performance and the crowd was on its feet chanting “De-fense.”
The Knicks remained undefeated at the Garden yesterday for one obvious reason: suffocating defense. It was more difficult for the Pacers to overcome than the noon tip-off.
“We really made it a priority because we understand the good teams in this league win defensively,” said Tyson Chandler, who had a blocked shot and two steals. “You don’t get to the next level without defense.”
After their bounce-back 88-76 victory over the Pacers, the Knicks improved to 4-0 at the World’s Most Famous Arena and 7-1 overall. They have yet to allow more than 94 points in their building, where they are giving up an average of 84.5 points per game.
“We’re playing for something, guys,” coach Mike Woodson said. “We’re trying to stay at the top, we’re trying to win our division and host the first round [of the playoffs] at home. And we got to win at home. Whoever comes in here, we got to make sure they go somewhere else looking for a ‘W.’ ”
“Not here,” he added.
Indiana (4-7), which nearly upset the Heat in last year’s conference semifinals, got that message loud and clear, especially when it had the ball.
Chandler bottled up Roy Hibbert, the Pacers’ 7-foot low-post threat, and the Knicks took advantage of the point guard-deficient Pacers, pushing them onto the perimeter, where they badly misfired, and forcing them into turnovers.
The Knicks struggled on offensive — they managed just 41 first-half points, a season low — their defense made it a moot point. They were at their stingiest, limiting Indiana to 30 points in the opening half, 39 percent shooting overall and the 76 points it managed — a season-low allowed by the Knicks — was boosted with a late flurry.
Chandler said the team’s defense is night and day compared to last year. One factor is Woodson spending virtually all of practice on stopping the opposition while another is the group having a full training camp together.
“You see the results,” said Carmelo Anthony, who continued his inspired two-way play with 26 points and nine rebounds.
New York led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter as Raymond Felton (11 points, eight assists) began to find the range on his jumper and set up his teammates for easy baskets. After a fast start, Anthony struggled from the field, making just 9-of-22 shots.
Ronnie Brewer provided a big third quarter with all eight of his points. J.R. Smith finished with 16 and Rasheed Wallace tallied nine points and seven rebounds.
The Knicks were nevertheless unable to pull away until the final quarter as their offense stalled like an old Buick. They struggled from 3-point land for the second straight game, making 7-of-25 attempts, shot just 36 percent from the field, and were flat-out inconsistent in terms of execution and good shot selection.
The Pacers got within nine points late in the third, but Wallace made sure they never got closer. The fan favorite sank a 3-pointer in the team’s final possession of the quarter, scored inside and then threw down a throwback right-handed dunk while gliding through the lane. After a Smith jumper, the Knicks’ lead was back to 16, and they were never threatened again.
The Knicks took the lopsided victory as another sign of their status as one of the league’s elite. They got home from Memphis 7 a.m. on Saturday, much of the team was out and about in community service projects later that day and as a result weren’t well rested.
It didn’t matter.
“Last year we let this game slip away,” Chandler said. “We have a lot of vets who understand these games add up. These are the games at the end of the year, when you’re in that dogfight, when you’re trying to jockey for position, these are the games that put you over, or under.”