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Knicks knot series with Pacers at 2-2 NEW YORK (AP) - Right after Reggie Miller hit a 3-pointer from in front of Spike Lee's courtside seat, Larry Johnson answered from in front of comedian Chris Rock's seat. Funny how quickly the momentum can swing one way and then back the other way. Miller's 3-pointer made it a one-point game with 6:50 left, but Johnson's 3 upped the lead to four just 28 seconds later. The Pacers never got that close again as they dropped Game 4 to the Knicks 91-89 to fall into a 2-2 tie in the Eastern Conference finals. "That was the biggest shot of the game right there," Miller said of Johnson's 3-pointer, one of five he hit during the game. Charlie Ward added four 3-pointers, Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby played well despite injuries and the Knicks had their highest-scoring quarter of the postseason as they opened a 33-19 lead after one. No player came up bigger than Johnson, who was flashing his "Big L" gesture and spinning gleefully in circles after hitting another 3-pointer, this one with 4:25 left for a nine-point lead. Charlie Ward added a 3-pointer two minutes later to help the Knicks wrap it up. Repeatedly scoring on isolation plays in the low post against Dale Davis and passing to open teammates when he was double-teamed, Johnson scored 25 points, shot 10-for-16 from the field - including 5-for-5 from 3-point range - and had seven rebounds and four assists. Allan Houston added 17 points, Kurt Thomas scored 16 and Ward had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds. New York was 10-for-14 from 3-point range and outrebounded Indiana 41-32. Game 5 is Wednesday night at Indianapolis, where the Pacers looked so confident just a few days ago after winning the first two games of the series. But it was the Knicks who had that look over the weekend, even as their injuries kept piling up. New York played again without center Patrick Ewing, who sat out his second straight game with acute tendinitis in his right foot. Sprewell, who broke a bone in his left foot at the end of Game 3, finished with 12 points and held Jalen Rose to 18, while Camby played on a sprained knee and had eight rebounds, five points and three blocks. Reggie Miller had 24 points for the Pacers, who could never come all the way back after allowing the Knicks to open a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter and a 17-point lead at halftime. The Pacers got back into it with a 22-10 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, a large portion of the crowd of 19,763 groaned as Miller's 3-pointer from in front of Lee was in mid-air. It swished through to make the score 77-76, but Johnson answered with a 3-pointer after a scramble for a loose ball under the basket. "This game was the most I've been open during the series," Johnson said. "They went to double-team and I found myself wide open." Miller then missed a 3 from the same spot as before and threw away an entry pass, and Thomas converted a 15-foot jumper to make it 82-76 with 5:12 left. Rose missed a hook shot and Johnson buried another 3-pointer, flashing his trademark "Big L" gesture for a good 10 seconds after the ball went through. "When the clock is running down and you're playing good D, and all of the sudden they pass the ball to an open threat, it takes a little wind out of you," Indiana's Sam Perkins said. "They were open because we were helping each other out." Indiana pulled within three on a 3-pointer by Travis Best with 10.5 seconds left, but Sprewell iced the victory by making the second of two foul shots with 4.1 seconds to go. Sprewell actually missed his second attempt, but Rose was called for a blatant lane violation to give Sprewell another chance. Best scored a meaningless tip-in at the buzzer. The Knicks improved to 5-1 against Indiana in the playoffs when playing without Ewing. "Look at the percentage with or without him," Indiana center Rik Smits said. "I hope he comes back." Ewing, who tested his injured foot during warmups, said he hoped to be healthy enough to play Wednesday. The Knicks hit 10 of their first 12 shots and finished 14-for-18 in the first quarter to take a 33-19 lead into the second. Sprewell jumped so high for a thunderous dunk in the first quarter that he nearly hit his forehead on the rim. "Once he got into the free lane, he didn't look like he had a broken foot to me," Rose said. The Pacers had an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to pull within six, but it proved to be just a brief flash of cohesion. Failing to run the same plays that had been working in the first three games, such as getting the ball to Smits in the low post or clearing out for isolation plays by Rose, the Pacers repeatedly jacked up jumpers and rarely drove to the basket. Thomas, Johnson, Houston and Ward all reached double figures by the half, and the Knicks received the thunderous ovation as they walked off the court with a 57-40 lead. The Pacers kept trying to sustain runs in the third quarter, and each time the Knicks stole the momentum. Two offensive rebounds by Dudley led to second-chance 3-pointers by Johnson and Ward, and another offensive rebound led to Johnson's turnaround jumper for a 67-54 lead. New York took a 73-65 lead into the fourth. Notes: This victory ended a trend for the Knicks. After falling behind 2-0 in the playoffs in 1996, 1998 and 1999, they won Game 3 and then lost Game 4 each time. ... New York's victory means that the start date for the NBA Finals will be Wed. June 7. ... Chris Dudley, who started in Ewing's place, finished with five fouls, five rebounds and no points in eight minutes. ... Derrick McKey played four minutes for Indiana. His only statistics were two turnovers. Visit our back issue library Email your... 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