The road has been a scary place for the Indiana Pacers this season. They finished the regular season 17 games over .500, but went 19-21 away from Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In their first round series with the Atlanta Hawks, they looked awful in two of their three games at Philip Arena.

Having lost the battle for homecourt in the semifinals during the final weeks of the season, the Pacers faced a daunting task on Sunday afternoon. They had to open their best-of-seven series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

It was a bit of a struggle for the Pacers in the first quarter as they shot 38.1% (8-for-21) and committed five turnovers, but the Knicks were only able to build a 27-22 lead. Thanks to strong play from some unexpected sources, Indiana outscored New York by 21 points over the next 24 minutes to take a 16-point lead into the fourth.

Feeling urgency, Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks attacked the basket more in the fourth quarter and put some pressure on the Pacers in the final minutes. Despite giving up 30 points in the final quarter, Indiana held on to win 102-95 and momentarily stole home court advantage from the Knicks in the series.

The Knicks shot 43.2% overall and went 7-for-19 from deep in Game 1. That may be what we see against the Pacers as New York shot 44.8% in the regular season and Indiana held opponents to 42% over 81 games.

Anthony finished 10-for-28 and was +7 in a seven-point loss.

The Pacers pulled away when Anthony was whistled for his fourth foul with 7:48 left in the third quarter. At that point, Indiana led 60-54. They closed the quarter on a 21-9 run to seize control of the game.

It remains to be seen how much of Anthony’s shooting struggles were a result of his foul trouble, keeping him from a good rhythm, and how much his left shoulder was bothering him. In six games against the Boston Celtics, Carmelo shot 38.1% on 26.7 shot attempts. As you might expect, he has increased his attempts from the regular season (22.2), but his percentage (44.9%) is down nearly seven points.

His struggles have largely been from deep. Anthony is 10-for-38 from three in the postseason. Since the Knicks went up 3-0 over the Celtics, he is just 2-for-22.

New York could have survived Anthony’s performance had it not been for J.R. Smith’s line. The Sixth Man of the Year finished 4-for-15 after starting the game with nine misses in ten attempts.

Hibbert Quietly Dominates

Hibbert, who was born in Queens, has struggled at Madison Square Garden this season. In two games, the center averaged five points, nine rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 5.5 turnovers.  

On Sunday afternoon, he went 6-for-9 from the field in 39 minutes and contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, four assists and just two turnovers. He altered many more shots than he blocked and was able to stay on the floor because Mike Woodson refused to consistently attack Indiana with high pick-and-rolls.

Even more impressive was his authority over Tyson Chandler. He had just three rebounds in 28 minutes.

Knicks Need More Felton

It wasn’t a coincidence that New York led 27-22 after the first quarter. Raymond Felton had 12 points in the period, going 5-for-6 from the field. Four of Felton’s five made shots were from eight feet or closer. It turned out to be the team’s most efficient offensive quarter as they went 11-for-23 from the field and shot 47.8%.

Over the final three periods, Felton had six points on as many shots.

It’s safe to assume we’ll see more of the point guard in Game 2. Frank Vogel says he’s content to allow the Knicks to shoot floaters over Hibbert’s long reach, but that will change quickly if Woodson changes his offensive attack.

Good Lance All Game

The x-factor for the Pacers this postseason, Lance Stephenson was unbelievable. He seemed to be in the right place more often than not against the Knicks. He took just nine shots, but had 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals. He committed a single turnover and was a game-high +17.

Stephenson, who averaged 3.9 rebounds in the regular season, has grabbed at least eight boards in each of his last playoff games. If he rebounds like this going forward, the Pacers will be impossible to beat on the glass.

Play It Again D.J.

D.J. Augustin kept the Pacers close when they entered the second quarter trailing the Knicks. He scored seven points in the period, finishing with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting overall and 4-for-5 from deep. His penetration in the first half also helped invigorate the Indiana offense.

Against the Hawks, he averaged 5.3 points on 26.5% shooting. The Pacers need his offense and threat from deep to help create space for David West and Hibbert to work inside and Paul George to attack in different ways.

If he gives Vogel even half of what he did on Sunday, he’ll help his cause as a free agent this summer. Augustin will be an unrestricted free agent after signing a one-year, $3.5 million deal last offseason.