Recent history was starting to repeat itself, and not the kind the Knicks wanted to experience again.

A 25-point lead was down to two, and the large Madison Square Garden crowd was groaning with every basket by the Pacers and costly turnover committed by the Knicks.

Only two nights earlier, the Knicks blew a late third-quarter, 17-point lead to the Bucks. Afterward, Jalen Brunson said he had to be better, despite scoring 44 points. In the clutch, he was better Wednesday, making sure the Pacers wouldn’t come all the way back.

He scored on a driving scoop, then buried a left corner 3-pointer, and the Knicks survived, 119-113, to pull into a sixth-place tie with the Pacers in the Eastern Conference.

“[Coach Tom Thibodeau] put an emphasis on it this morning in shootaround,” Quentin Grimes said. “These are the games that are deal breakers later on in the season, because later on it could be a tiebreaker.”

The night began with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in the spotlight, following recent critical remarks by MSG Knicks analyst Wally Szczerbiak, and Haliburton saying those comments had motivated him. The Knicks, however, did a nice job on Haliburton, limiting him to 15 points on 12 shots in 27 minutes before he left the game late in the third quarter with injuries to his left knee and left elbow.

Without him, the Pacers (23-19) staged a furious rally, nearly coming all the way back from 25 points down in the third quarter. The lead was only two after Buddy Hield’s 3-pointer with 3:10 remaining. But Brunson answered with the next seven points for the Knicks (23-19) and Grimes iced the game with a left-wing 3-pointer after sitting most of the fourth quarter, as they avoided another ugly home loss. On the possession, it looked like Grimes had an open layup, but he decided to pull it out before later sinking the long jumper, his fourth 3-pointer of the night.

“I thought he had a layup, but he said he wanted a 3 so he shot a 3,” Brunson said. “That’s a lot of confidence by him.”

Brunson poured in 34 points to lead the way, RJ Barrett added 27 and eight rebounds in his return from a lacerated right index finger and Grimes had 18 and five rebounds. Hield scored 31 for the Pacers, who turned the game by going small and blitzing Knicks ball-handlers. It led to seven Knicks turnovers in the second half and 15 transition points for the Pacers.

“We scored 119 points, I’m not concerned about us scoring. What I am concerned about is our defense and not letting up,” Thibodeau said, referring to the Pacers scoring 72 points in the second half. “A 20-point lead, 25-point lead is not safe in this league. If you’re watching the games, you see it. And you’ve got to fight human nature. You can’t exhale.”

The Knicks have obviously seen it firsthand, already blowing large leads at home this year to the Mavericks, Thunder, Hawks and Bucks in defeats. That inability to hold onto leads is why they have been so mediocre at home, now just 11-11. That they were able to prevail after blowing almost all of a huge cushion on Wednesday is progress. Particularly since it came against the Pacers, one of the opponents they are battling for the coveted sixth spot in the Eastern Conference.

“A win’s a win in this league,” Brunson said, “especially [against] a team that we’re fighting for position with.”