INDIANAPOLIS — One day after Reggie Miller was announced as an inductee into the Hall of Fame, Danny Granger did the Pacers legend proud by engineering a comeback as the Knicks choked in the fourth quarter.
Granger, in playing the role of Knicks-killer, gunned down Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks with a 3-of-3 3-point shooting display in the final 12 minutes. He scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Pacers to a 112-104 victory over the Knicks Tuesday night. Granger also was assigned to defend Anthony in the fourth and slowed him down after he wreaked havoc for three quarters.
Hundreds of fans trotted out their Miller jerseys last night and there was even a Reggie chant before the game.
“I guess it was from one shooter to another, my tribute to Reggie Miller,” Granger said.
Anthony was feasting in his new role as power forward for three quarters, blowing past Tyler Hansbrough for easy layups. Anthony had 14 at halftime and 27 after three quarters before Granger said he accepted the challenge of defending Anthony.
“Carmelo, it’s hard to stop him completely,” Granger said. “I just wanted to make his shots difficult for him. Even the shots he made, just make them tough shots. He got 39 points, but we got the win.”
Anthony had two good looks, though, in the final minute from 3-point range, but missed both. With 41.9 seconds left trailing by three, Anthony’s shot rimmed out from the left wing.
Down four, Anthony missed again from the right wing with 28 seconds left.
“I’ll take those shots anytime,’’ Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson said.
***
Jeremy Lin held a Facebook chat with fans late Monday night after his surgery and keeps sticking to his goal of being back for when the playoffs begin.
Mostly, Lin entertained questions ranging from his favorite Pokemon to his preference on his favorite juice (pineapple).
“I hope I’ll be back for the playoffs,’’ he wrote. “It’s killing me to watch the team without being able to play, but I need to make sure my knee is 100% before I get back on the court, so we will wait and see.’’
Tyson Chandler joked Lin was sending out drunk texts to his mates after his knee surgery. The Facebook chat, according to the Wall Street Journal, garnered 8,000 questions per second and he had marriage proposals from 43 different participants.
Medical experts believe Lin can get back within a month if the level of arthritis found in the removed cartilage is low. When asked about Lin being ready for the start of the playoffs, Woodson said, “I don’t know. I hope so. I ‘d love to get him back. But you can’t rush any major injury like that. He had major surgery yesterday. A lot will depend on the doctors and how he feels. I’d hate to rush him back and he reinjures himself and then he’s really done for the rest of the year.’’