Two games in, the Big Apple yielded a win each for the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, as both have their eyes locked on Game 3 with the intention of either retaking or retaining home court advantage.
Coming into Game 3, the story will likely be about Amar'e Stoudemire returning to the lineup, but the big focus should be on the huge difference in play from each team in the first two games.
Indiana was able to come away with a win in Game 1 after forcing the Knicks to play into their hands. They out-rebounded and out-assisted New York while constantly pounding the ball into the paint. New York was unable to keep pace, falling 102-95.
The Knicks turned the tables in Game 2, however, running a close game into an embarrassing blowout thanks to a 20-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
Tyson Chandler became more of a factor defensively, Carmelo Anthony had his most efficient scoring game of the playoffs and just three players on the Pacers ended the game with double-figure scoring. New York walked away with a 105-79 win.
While the Pacers achieved the goal of every road team to start out the playoffs, (a split of the first two games), they have to be concerned with the 12-minute stretch in Game 2 where they went without a single field goal.
Both teams had a cushy three-day layoff between games, so Indiana has had plenty of time to fix the bad, while New York has had plenty of time to emphasize the good.
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