The Knicks avenged May’s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Indiana Pacers as they earned their first win of the 2024-25 season with Friday’s 123-98 rout.
Takeaways
1. Karl-Anthony Towns clicked. After struggling in Tuesday’s 132-109 loss at the Boston Celtics, Towns took control with a double-double. Towns matched his scoring total in the opener after a 12-point first half where he was aggressive early and impactful throughout. Towns capped a 27-10 run to end the second quarter and gave the Knicks a 61-45 halftime lead with a triple at the 4.1-second mark. The Knicks’ starting five all scored in double figures, and Towns was chief among them with a 21-point evening on 5-of-11 shooting while adding 15 rebounds through 32 minutes.
2. As Towns settled in, Jalen Brunson took the Knicks to a new level. Brunson’s bucket with 4:07 left in the second quarter gave the Knicks their first double-digit lead of the evening, and forced a timeout by the Pacers, as they went on a pivotal 8-0 run. Towns sparked the Knicks, and Brunson — with his game-high 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting while adding five rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes — showed what the duo can look like at tip-top shape.
3. Mikal Bridges (21 points) and OG Anunoby (14) rebounded from rough starts earlier this week, but Josh Hart especially was a key cog in the starting five and eight-man rotation as the Knicks buried the Pacers throughout the first half. Hart even did so while grabbing at his right hamstring in the early minutes of the first quarter but playing through the apparent discomfort. He scored nine second-quarter points as the Knicks created separation and made Hart-like plays en route to 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, plus 10 rebounds and three assists in his game-high 37 minutes. Hart brought heart, and the Knicks — especially the starting five — fed off him.
4. Miles McBride headlined the Knicks’ three-man bench, alongside Cameron Payne and Jericho Sims. An apparent injury in the second quarter — McBride replaced Hart at the first quarter’s 3:23 mark and exited for Brunson with 7:29 before halftime — shortened McBride’s minutes, but he returned from the locker room after getting treatment and returned to the game at the third quarter’s 4:28 point, replacing Anunoby. McBride finished with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting while adding two rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.
Who’s the MVP?
Brunson. Despite Towns’ promising performance, Brunson remains a constant in the Knicks’ moving parts and ultimately brings New York to another tier when he is on his game.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks host the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday at 7:30 p.m.
