Tue. 3/7 Knicks @ Pacers - Postgame & Comments

Preview: New York (16-43) at Indiana (30-26) 7:00 pm EST

INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) - The Indiana Pacers hope to continue their recent sharp play when they host the sliding New York Knicks on Tuesday.

The Pacers have won four of their last five games and are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, two games behind Cleveland for the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round.

Indiana is coming off of a 94-93 triumph at Philadelphia on Sunday in the finale of a four-game road trip. Stephen Jackson, missed 15 of his first 19 shots, connected on a layup with 2.9 seconds left to provide the victory.

Anthony Johnson scored 18 points and Jackson added 15 for the Pacers, who won despite committing 17 turnovers.

The Knicks are looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January after ending a six-game slide with a 103-98 victory at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Steve Francis made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 20 seconds in his first win in six games as a Knick since being acquired from Orlando on February 22. It was just New York's third victory in 25 contests since a season-high six-game winning streak from January 2-13.

Eddy Curry collected 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jalen Rose and Quentin Richardson combined to score 37 points for New York, which had lost 22 of its previous 24 games.

The Pacers have won 14 of the last 16 games against the Knicks here. Indiana posted a 102-96 triumph in New York on December 17 on the only meeting against the teams this season.

Recap:INDIANAPOLIS, March 7 (Ticker) -- With their balanced scoring attack, the New York Knicks are starting to show signs of life.

Jalen Rose scored 21 points and Jamal Crawford added 16 -- all in the fourth quarter -- to lead the Knicks to their second straight win, a 107-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers

Posting consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 11-13, the Knicks (17-43) had seven scorers in double figures and raised their road record to 6-25 this season. Overall, they had lost 22 of 24 before beating Milwaukee on Saturday night.

"They've (Indiana) been playing great and I know this wasn't one of their better games, but it was a quality win on the road for us," Knicks coach Larry Brown said. "We moved the ball great and got a lot of great looks because of it."

"I think we are starting to gain some cohesion and confidence and that's what basketball is all about," Rose said. "Anytime you beat two playoff teams on the road, it's good for your team. Hopefully, we can build on it."

Held without a point for the first three quarters, Crawford opened the fourth period with consecutive 3-pointers to ignite a 16-2 run that broke open the contest and gave the Knicks a 91-74 lead with 7:07 remaining.

Steve Francis made a three-point play, Jackie Butler hit a layup and Crawford went 5-of-5 from the free-throw line during the burst, hitting the last three after he was fouled by Jamaal Tinsley on a 3-pointer.

Later in the period, Crawford hit another shot from the arc that widened the lead to 102-82 with 3:41 remaining.

"Some of the guys set the table for me and all I had to do was knock down the shots," Crawford said. "Tonight, Jalen and Eddy (Curry) got it going and I had a good fourth quarter. We're a deep team and we feel like that's one of our strengths. It's about chemistry and we're still getting used to each other. We know that anybody can come off the bench and contribute."

Rose and Eddy Curry scored seven points apiece and Quentin Richardson made two shots from the arc in the third quarter, helping the Knicks take a 70-63 edge with 4:01 to go.

However, Peja Stojakovic scored six of the Pacers' last nine points in the period to forge a 72-72 tie.

Curry scored 15 points, Malik Rose added 12 and 10 rebounds and Francis 11 for the Knicks, who had a 45-35 rebounding edge.

"Our start to the game was OK," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "But the second quarter, they had 32 (points) and we couldn't keep them under 30 after that. They played great offensively. During this 15-game period, we've competed hard on a consistent basis and tonight we had a letdown from that."

Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson scored 20 points apiece and David Harrison had 11 for Indiana (30-27), which shot 35 percent (29-of-82) from the floor.

"We just didn't have it tonight," Jackson said. "It just seemed like we came out tired. It seems like we don't bring it like we should sometimes."

Indiana is 12-14 this season against sub-.500 teams.

"I guess it's a lack of focus on our part," Pacers center Jeff Foster said. "We're just not getting up for those teams and we can't do that if want to improve our spot for the playoffs."