It felt like the 1990s at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
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 “dee-fense.”
The Knicks remained undefeated at MSG on Sunday for that reason.
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 and are giving up an average of 84.5 points per game.
Tyson Chandler bottled up Roy Hibbert, Indiana’s dangerous 7-foot low-post threat, the Knicks took advantage of the point guard-less Pacers – who are also still without star Danny Granger – pushing them onto the perimeter, where they badly misfired, and forcing them into 19 turnovers.
The Knicks struggled offensively early on. Anthony had 12 of their 21 first-quarter points and they scored just 41 points – their lowest first-half total of the season – but their defense was at its stingy best, limiting Indiana to 30 points on 26 percent shooting. New York led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter as Raymond Felton (11 points, eight assists) began find the range on his jumper and set up his teammates for easy baskets.
After his fast start, Anthony struggled from the field, making just 9-of-22 shots. He still finished with 26 points and had help, as Ronnie Brewer had a big third quarter with eight points and J.R. Smith added 16.
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, shot just 36 percent from the field, and were flat-out inconsistent in terms of execution and good shot selection.
The Pacers, who nearly upset Miami in the conference semifinals last year but are a shell of that team, got within nine late in the third quarter on a Lance Stephenson basket.
Rasheed Wallace made sure they never got closer. The fan favorite, who scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds, sank a 3-pointer in the team’s final possession of the stanza, scored inside and then threw down a right-handed dunk while gliding through the lane. After a Smith jumper, the Knicks lead was back to 16.
zbraziller@nypost.com