Dominating Indiana - Easier for Nets than Knicks

The Nets dominated the Pacers this season, sweeping them for the first time in six years, including two wins at Bankers Life Field House. They even won without Deron Williams back in February, just before the All-Star break. In that game, Tyshawn Taylor filled in and scored 12 points in 34 minutes. In fact, in all three wins, guard play and offensive dominance by Brook Lopez spelled the difference.

The Knicks go into Game 6 vs. the Pacers Saturday night down 3-2. And, writes Tim Bontemps, they have yet to figure out Indiana. Bontemps offers a summary of how the Nets beat the Pacers so handily, particularly at Bankers Life Field House, and why the Knicks haven't:

Try to match them on the boards: "In the two games the Nets won in Indianapolis, they outrebounded the Pacers by four in one game and were outrebounded by one in the other," Bontemps writes. "By comparison, the Knicks were outrebounded by 12 and 18, respectively, in Games 3 and 4 in this series."

Make their three-pointers: "The 3-point shot was a crucial weapon for the Nets in their two wins in Indianapolis, because it opened up the floor and made the Pacers’ league-leading defense work that much harder. In the two wins, the Nets went 16-for-37 (43.2 percent) from behind the arc ... in Games 3 and 4, [the Knicks shot] a combined 11-for-39 (28.2 percent)."

Attack the rim and get to the line: "The Nets also were able to convert against the Pacers’ stingy defense by attacking the rim and getting to the foul line ... In the Nets’ two wins, they shot 58 free throws compared with 44 for the Pacers, and were able to get Lance Stephenson to foul out in one game and Paul George in another. No Pacers fouled out in either of the two games in Indianapolis in this series."

• Knicks can learn from Nets on ways to win in Indy - Tim Bontemps - New York Post