In truth, the events that occurred failed to even surprise me anymore. The Knicks of 2001-2002 were a disaster waiting to happen. I could only be cautiously happy about a four-game winning streak, because they were playing too well, having much too good a fortune than they’re entitled to. After all, the last time the Knicks had a good streak this season, their head coach quit on them.

From the way Camby fell squarely on his right hip with a sharp thud, it would be surprising if the Knicks’ starting center returned in a month. The Knicks, struggling even when at its full strength, will face a daunting task to scavenge wins after having their morale and spirit broken yet again.

Without the service of their starting center, the Knicks struggled against the Pacers. They returned to bad form with sloppy plays and poor defense. The Pacers had a double-digit lead in the first before a 8-0 run cut the lead to 2 at the end of the quarter.

Indiana responded with a run of their own in the second quarter. Jonathan Bender contributed 18 points to the Pacers in the first half, including numerous three-pointers. The Pacers had as many as a 16- point lead in the second quarter and went into halftime shooting 51% from the field.

The Knicks weren’t about to wave the white flag. Houston and Sprewell turned on the heat, scoring nearly every Knick point in the third quarter to cut the lead to just 2 going into the fourth. The New York defense also tightened to force a seven-minute Indiana drought.

New York took the lead at 78-76 after Sprewell made a jumper. Miller shined once again in the clutch by hitting dagger 3-pointers. After Jermain O’Neal gave Indiana a 3-point lead with 1:35 remaining after he put on a spin move on Thomas, New York was forced into a 24 second violation with Houston on the bench.

Just as the situation seemed dire, Sprewell tipped and stole a lazy Pacers pass. Running down an open court, Sprewell seemed to have the easy two points in the bag, but perhaps due to his sprained ankle earlier in the game, he slowed down before he reached the basket just enough so that his lay-up was able to be swatted away by Jermaine O’Neal.

The Knicks had one more chance as Houston was fouled on his dribble by an overaggressive Miller with the Pacers over the limit. Houston, who had played so well throughout the game with 27 points on 11-21 shooting, choked on both of his free throws that would have put the Knicks within 1. Reggie Miller, never one to falter in the clutch, hit both of his free throws on the other end of the court to give the Knicks a 92-87 defeat.

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