Reasons For Optimism After the Knicks' 106-98 Loss to the Pacers

The Knicks came out of the All-Star break with a bit of a thud on Friday night, losing 106-98 to the Pacers after being down by as many as 22 in the third quarter. However, there was some cause for hope amongst the Knicks, namely who closed the game for them.

Frank Ntilikina, RJ Barrett, Damyean Dotson, Julius Randle and a combination of Bobby Portis and Kevin Knox finished the game for the Knicks, coming within four points late before ultimately losing by eight. The result wasn't ideal — sooner or later, one might want to see the younger players leading the Knicks to some wins — but it was encouraging to see that, on a night when Randle was not his best and Elfrid Payton was out, the younger players were able to step up and lead a charge.

Here's some numbers and notes from the failed comeback that was last night:

— Ntilikina drew the start with Payton out, and he turned in one of his best performances of the season: 14 points on 6-11 shooting with two assists and two steals. But, as usual, a lot of Ntilikina's impact extended past just the standard box scores numbers.

For example, the Pacers' Malcolm Brogdon, who averages 16.5 points per game this season, was held to just three points and three assists on 0-4 shooting in the seven minutes he was guarded by Ntilikina, per NBA Stats. He finished the entire game with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists on 4-14 shooting, but it could be argued that the whole tone for his night was set early by Ntilikina's standout defense.

Things didn't get much easier for any other member of the Pacers — as a team, they shot 1-7 for five points when guarded by Ntilikina.

— The Knicks held the Pacers without a 3-pointer until the 4:17 mark in the second quarter, something that Mike Miller identified as a goal for the team post-All-Star before the game.

“We would like to defend the 3-point line a little bit better," Miller said. "We want to, just, you know dig into that a little bit. Our defensive numbers have been better. We have been, I think, over the last, we’ve charted it, I think like over the last 33 games we’re maybe top-5, top-6 in the league in paint points allowed and we want to continue to get better there. But if we can extend out and take away a couple of 3-point shots, I think it would make a big difference.”

Looking back at the tape, it's debatable whether the Knicks totally earned that 20-minute stretch without a three from Indiana given some of the quality looks the Pacers had, but the Knicks also ended up holding the Pacers to 28.6% from deep for the game as well.

That means the Knicks are now 5-4 when holding an opponent under 30% from three this season. They also are 13-10 when holding teams to under 106 points, a relatively common occurrence in the Miller era thus far — nine of the Knicks' last 13 games had their opponent score less than 106. The offense certainly has its warts under Miller (which is due in part to available personnel, and in part to lineups that sometimes have a practically-unheard-of lack of spacing), but the defense has undeniably made strides under him.

— The Ntilikina, Barrett, Dotson 3-man lineup has only received 38 minutes together this season. When Dotson was inserted into the game late in the fourth quarter with the score at 97-88, that unit went on a 6-1 run to narrow the gap to four points late in the game. It's certainly a 3-man lineup worth a lot more exploring, potentially with Mitchell Robinson in there as well.

— RJ Barrett looked spry and confident in this game, which is a breath of fresh air compared to how he was right before the All-Star break. Since returning from his ankle injury, Barrett is averaging 10.6 points per game on woeful 35/8/64 splits from the field, 3-point range and the free throw line in five games. Friday's 8-19 performance from the field is certainly far from perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. The 0-5 number from three could definitely stand to go up, however, as Barrett has made just one triple since coming back.

Even with the extra rest and the injury before it, Barrett has already played over 10 games more than he ever has in a season before. Patience will be key, as always with 19-year-olds getting used to an NBA schedule for the first time in their lives. But Friday was a great starting point to what can potentially be a fruitful close to the season for Barrett.