Towns and Brunson lead Knicks to 123-98 win over Pacers in home opener

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 15 rebounds in his Knicks home debut, Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and New York defeated the Indiana Pacers on Friday night with by a score of 123-98.

Mikal Bridges also had 21 points and Josh Hart had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who bounced back from a 132-109 rout of Boston in the NBA season opener on Tuesday.

Indiana All-Star point guard Tyrese Halliburton was scoreless and went 0-for-7 on three-pointers, falling to 1-for-16 from beyond the arc this season. Reserve Benedict Maturin scored 20 points.

Takeout

Pacers: Indiana had one of the best offenses in league history last season and set an NBA playoff record by shooting 67.1 percent from the field in their last trip to Madison Square Garden to win Game 7 last season in the Eastern Conference semifinals, so nights like Friday’s number will be rare.

Knicks: This is how the Knicks hoped to look on both ends of the floor after trading for Towns and Bridges. Towns’ ability to make three-point shots created good spacing for guards, and with Bridges, OG Anunoby and Hart on the perimeter, the Pacers struggled to get into any type of offense.

The key point

The Knicks led with 7:29 left in the first half as the Pacers returned four starters and Brunson returned. New York outscored Indiana 25-10 behind Brunson’s six points and four assists to take a 61-45 halftime lead.

Key statistics

After allowing an NBA-record 29 three-pointers in the loss in Boston, the Knicks held the Pacers to 3-for-30 (10%) from beyond the arc.

Further

The Pacers host Philadelphia on Sunday in a home opener, while the Knicks host Cleveland on Monday.

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