Roy Hibbert
Roy Hibbert and the Pacers were the more physical than New York in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Creative Commons

When the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers suit up for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series, the pressure to win will almost certainly be on the shoulders of the No. 2-seeded Knicks.

Dropping the series opener 102-95 in sluggish fashion, the Knicks need a win to avoid heading to Indiana in an 0-2 hole.

Game 2 will tip Tuesday, May 7th at 7:00pm, EDT from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Coverage will be available through the TNT television network.

Outrebounded 44-30 in their Sunday loss to the Pacers, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is exploring all options when it comes to a possible change to his starting rotation.

"Right now we've only got one game under our belt," Woodson told NBA.com. "The small lineup that we started didn't cost us. And I don't consider Melo a small. You guys might, but I don't."

Carmelo Anthony was battered and bruised in the Knicks' sloppy loss to Indiana. Shooting 10-for-28 from the field, the former Syracuse University also struggled with the bigger David West.

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While Anthony has shown the ability multiple times this season to outrun and outplay opponents when playing the power forward position, West gave Anthony obvious trouble because of his overall size and strength advantage.

Not wanting to blame his offensive deficiencies on any one thing, Anthony knows he needs to keep getting his looks and continue playing his game.

"I'm not going to over-analyze that and start putting that under a microscope because the shots that I'm taking I know I can make," Anthony told reporters from ESPN New York. "They're just not going in at this point for whatever reason. I'm not thinking twice about the shots that I'm missing."

While New York and their leading scorer suffered obvious difficulty in Game 1, Indiana's head coach was proud of his team's effort and is fully aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

"I thought both teams played extremely physical. It's going to be that kind of series," Frank Vogel said. "I don't think we've won that physicality battle or anything like that. I think they played extremely hard and physical, and so did we."

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The Pacers may have played physical but the unexpected performance of guard D.J. Augustin ignited the Indiana offense early on and propelled them late in the game to get the victory.

In 13 minutes of action, Augustin shot 5-of-6 from the floor including 4-of-5 from three-point range for a total of 16 points.

The former University of Texas star averaged slightly over 4 points during the regular season so his Game 1 performance was not necessarily expected but fully appreciated by his team.

"We've been yelling at him all year to shoot the ball," David West told the New York Times. "These last two weeks, he's shot the ball without hesitation. We knew he could play a big role for us."

Augustin has certainly taken on a big role for the Pacers as Indiana now looks to take a crucial 2-0 series lead when they return home for Saturday's Game 3.

Be sure to catch Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the No. 2 New York Knicks and No. 3 Indiana Pacers Tuesday, May 7th at 7:00pm, EDT. Coverage will be provided by the TNT television network.

Watch Highlights from Indiana's 102-95 Game 1 Victory over the Knicks:

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