In the first home game of the new NBA season, the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 123-98 at Madison Square Garden.
It was only the second game of the season for both teams, who came into this campaign with high expectations for this season.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, they were humiliated tonight at Madison Square Garden against what are arguably their biggest rivals in the East.
The hero of the evening for the New York Knicks was, as usual, star point guard Jalen Brunson
With 26 points (10-19 FG) he was the leading scorer of the game and led the team in offense in less than 30 minutes of play.
It set the stage for the other starters, who scored more than 60 points.
Excellent performance for Mikal Bridges with 21 points and 5 assists with 8-12 shots, while Karl-Antony Towns had 21 points and 25 rebounds with 2-2 three-pointers.
Josh Hart, who was uncertain about his starting role earlier this month, had his best game this season with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists on 53.3% shooting.
Benedict Mathurin was the only presentable player for the Pacers
He finished with a team-high 20 points (8-13 FG), but it was clearly not enough to prevent a crushing loss.
With a season record of 1-1, it’s still too early to tell how things are going for the Pacers and the same goes for the Knicks, who have been up and down in their opening week.
But after trading Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo this summer and adding Karl-Anthony Towns to the mix, there’s no doubt that the Knicks have title aspirations and won’t back down in their quest to win it.
The Knicks hope tonight was just a taste of what’s to come this season, with a brand new team and a coach ready to exploit their talents.
With perhaps the deepest roster in the league and a passion for the game on both ends of the floor, it might not be too much of a stretch to say that the franchise is closer to competing than it has been recently.
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