The Knicks fought valiantly, but a last-second free throw miss saw the team fall to the Pacers 104-103 on Saturday. >> Box Score

Five things to know from Saturday's game

1) In Mike Miller's debut as the team's interim coach, the Knicks came out of the gates playing well. Marcus Morris and RJ Barrett each scored an early four points, leading to a 14-7 Knicks' lead midway through the quarter. Miller said before the game that he wanted to see more ball movement, and that was the case early on. The Pacers fought back though, led by TJ Warren (25 points)and Domantis Sabonis (19 points).

Early in the fourth quarter, the Pacers pushed their lead to 92-81, but the Knicks didn't let the game get out of hand. New York went on a 14-4 run, spurred on by Elfrid Payton, to get back within one point. Later, the scored stayed put at 104-100 for a long stretch, until Morris hit a floater to bring the Knicks within two points with under two to go.

In the closing seconds, trailing by two, the Knicks came up with a loose ball and Julius Randle was fouled with 0.1 seconds left down by two. Randle knocked down the first, but he missed the second, and the Knicks walked away with the loss.

2) Randle appeared to be much more aggressive in the early going, attacking the basket in the first half. At the break, Randle was tied for the team lead with 12 points, while adding three rebounds and an assist. He finished the game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists.

3) Mitchell Robinson looks to be getting more comfortable in his role coming off the bench. The Knicks once again elected to start Taj Gibson at center, but Robinson brought his typical energy off the bench. In the first half alone, Robinson contributed 12 points to go along with four rebounds. He ended the game with 14 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.

4) After allowing Denver to hit a staggering 21-of-39 three-point attempts in their last game, the Knicks' defense of the three-point line had nowhere to go but up, but the Pacers nonetheless had a lot of success from beyond the arc, hitting 12-of-28 threes (42.9 percent).

5) Morris led the Knicks in scoring on the night with 25 points, shooting 9-of-17 from the floor. Randle, Robinson, Barrett (12 points), and Damyean Dotson (10 points) all scored in double digits.

Highlights

Taking it strong to the rack 💪@J30_RANDLE pic.twitter.com/PFxgL1Cou9
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 8, 2019

HE'S ONLY 19 🤯 pic.twitter.com/tujvHrof4o
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 8, 2019

RJ ➡ MITCH pic.twitter.com/tsMfpsZ9zg
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 8, 2019

👌 @MookMorris2 👌 pic.twitter.com/sq23EBDWWn
- NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 8, 2019

Here's how the Knicks lost...

(via @DimeUPROXX) pic.twitter.com/UPtk9wVba5
- Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 8, 2019

What's next

The Knicks will be back in action on Tuesday night, as they begin a west coast swing against Carmelo Anthony and the Portland Trail Blazers at 10PM.

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