NBA

Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks

· National Basketball Association
1-1, 1-1 Away
Final
98 - 123

1-1, 1-0 Home

Towns, Brunson help Knicks roll to a 123-98 victory over the Pacers in their home opener

New-look Knicks handle Pacers in East semis rematch

Mikal Bridges also scored 21 points and Josh Hart had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who bounced back powerfully after they were blown out 132-109 in Boston on Tuesday in the NBA season opener.

Indiana All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton was scoreless and went 0 for 7 on 3-pointers, falling to 1 for 16 behind the arc this season. Reserve Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points.

Takeaways Pacers: Indiana had one of the best offenses in league history last season and set an NBA playoff record by shooting 67.1% from the field in its last trip to Madison Square Garden for a Game 7 victory last season in the Eastern Conference semifinals, so nights like Friday figure to be rare.

Knicks: This was how the Knicks hoped to look on both ends of the floor after the trades for Towns and Bridges. Towns' ability to make 3-pointers had the floor spaced nicely for the guards to drive, and with Bridges, OG Anunoby and Hart on the perimeter, the Pacers struggled to get into any kind of offense.

Key moment The Knicks led by one with 7:29 left in the first half when the Pacers brought four starters back into the game at the same time Brunson returned. New York outscored Indiana 25-10 from there behind six points and four assists from Brunson to lead 61-45 at the break.

Key stat After allowing an NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers in the loss in Boston, the Knicks held the Pacers to 3 for 30 (10%) behind the arc.

Up next The Pacers host Philadelphia on Sunday in their home opener and the Knicks host Cleveland on Monday.

Regular Season Series

NY leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Knicks: 50.8%
Pacers: 49.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 98 - 123
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 98 - 123
4th 1.0 shot clock turnover 98 - 123
4th 23.1 Ariel Hukporti defensive rebound 98 - 123
4th 25.1 Johnny Furphy misses 7-foot two point shot 98 - 123

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/ind.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originIND https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/ny.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNY
41-83 FG 44-84
49.4 Field Goal % 52.4
3-30 3PT 12-27
10.0 Three Point % 44.4
13-20 FT 23-29
65.0 Free Throw % 79.3
33 Rebounds 43
9 Offensive Rebounds 11
24 Defensive Rebounds 32
28 Assists 19
8 Steals 5
6 Blocks 4
15 Turnovers 11
1 Team Turnovers 1
16 Total Turnovers 12
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
29 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 13
13 Fast Break Points 14
70 Points in Paint 54
24 Fouls 18
4 Largest Lead 33

Game Information

Madison Square Garden

Location: New York, NY
Attendance: 19,812 · Capacity:

2024-25 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 56 11 .836 - L1
Milwaukee 38 29 .567 18 L1
Indiana 37 29 .561 18.5 L1
Detroit 37 31 .544 19.5 L2
Chicago 28 39 .418 28 L1

2024-25 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Boston 49 19 .721 - W2
New York 42 24 .636 6 L1
Toronto 24 44 .353 25 L1
Philadelphia 23 44 .343 25.5 W1
Brooklyn 23 45 .338 26 W1
Full Standings

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