Knicks’ explosion buries Pacers

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points, 16 during a 30-2 New York onslaught in the second half, the Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 105-79 on Tuesday night to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at one game.

Iman Shumpert added 15 points, including a sensational follow dunk in the first half, and Raymond Felton scored 14 as the Knicks turned a close game into a blowout over the final 15 minutes.

Paul George scored 20 points for the Pacers, who had a two-point lead and momentum when coach Frank Vogel called timeout with a little more than three minutes left in the third quarter.

By the time the Pacers made their next basket, the Knicks had opened a 26-point advantage.

Game 3 is Saturday at Indianapolis.

David West scored 13 points for the Pacers, who committed 21 turnovers that led to 32 points, negating their height advantage that loomed so large in their Game 1 victory.

Indiana had trailed most of the night before taking a 64-62 lead on George Hill’s 3-pointer with 3:28 left in the third quarter that capped a 10-4 run, and the Pacers seemed to have all the momentum.

Vogel then called timeout with a little more than three minutes left and subbed out centre Roy Hibbert. Anthony came back with a drive and then a dunk while drawing a foul that knocked over Hibbert’s replacement, Jeff Pendergraph, and the game was never the same.

Prigioni and Kenyon Martin finished with 10 points apiece as the Knicks endured another dreadful game from Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith, who was 3 of 15 for eight points.

Anthony had shot 35 for 110 over his previous four games but broke out of his slump Tuesday, going 13 of 26 and adding nine rebounds as the Knicks, pummeled on the boards in Indiana’s 102-95 victory in Game 1, finished with a 37-35 advantage.

Indiana had a 44-30 advantage on the boards in its victory. The Game 1 winner has won all of the previous six series between these teams.