NEW YORK — Monday followed a familiar Knicks pattern: The starters stunk; the bench picked up the slack.
It’s not a sustainable model for success, but still good enough to beat the Pacers, 92-84, snapping a four-game home losing streak at MSG behind defense.
Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley combined for 30 points and closed the victory while the starting backcourt watched from the bench. It was the third consecutive game that Evan Fournier, who signed a $78 million deal in the summer, didn’t play in the fourth quarter.
After an ugly third quarter from the starters, the bench tied it with 7:39 remaining in regulation on Alec Burks’ 3-pointer. The Pacers (6-9) then managed just seven points for the rest of the game, and were held to 37% shooting on the night.
It was another lethargic performance from Julius Randle, whose game and body language suggests he’s neither as confident or happy as last season’s rise to All-NBA. Randle, who finished with just 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting, was even booed by the Garden crowd after throwing away a pass near the end of the third quarter.
Kemba Walker started strong but remains a defensive liability and played only 20 minutes while benched for the entire fourth quarter.
The Knicks’ issues are exacerbated by the continued absence of center Nerlens Noel, who sprained his knee and has only played in four games this season. Thibodeau hasn’t provided any details about Noel’s recovery timeline, only claiming that he’s day-to-day and progressing.
Mitchell Robinson, meanwhile, logged only 16 minutes as the starting center before leaving with a sore ankle. It meant a heavy load again for 36-year-old Taj Gibson, but also forced Thibodeau experiment with a Randle-Toppin frontcourt in the fourth quarter.
It was short-lived. Gibson played the final six minutes and finished with 29 minutes and eight rebounds.
Only about two weeks ago, the Pacers trampled the Knicks in Indiana behind an explosive shooting night from Myles Turner. Coach Rick Carlisle said the team was motivated for the rematch with the old Knicks-Pacers rivalry in mind.
“Our core guys are in their mid-to-late 20s. They were alive back then. Many of them followed basketball,” Carlisle said. “They know about Reggie Miller and Patrick Ewing and those kinds of things.”
“When you come to New York to play here, this is a big deal,” added Carlisle, the NBA’s longest-tenured coach after Gregg Popovich. “This is Gotham.”
The final score felt like a 1990s matchup but these Knicks need to fix their starting lineup woes before any such comparisons.
