The last time the New York Knicks played a home game against the Indiana Pacers, both teams were on the verge of the NBA Finals.
More than nine months later, the Pacers are much further away from championship contention than the Knicks — even if New York’s ceiling remains uncertain despite a recent surge.
The Knicks will look to continue their solid play Tuesday night, when they host the Pacers in the second clash of the season between the longtime rivals.
Both teams were off Monday after playing road matinees on Super Bowl Sunday, when the Knicks cruised past the Boston Celtics 111-89 and the Pacers fell to the Toronto Raptors, 122-104.
The win was the ninth in the last 10 games for the Knicks, who moved into a tie with the Celtics for second place in the Eastern Conference, five games behind the Detroit Pistons before the Pistons’ game Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
It also continued a trend of dominant victories for New York. Seven of New York’s last nine wins have been by double digits, including five by at least 20 points and three by 30 points or more.
But the lone loss in the current stretch was a 118-80 loss to the Pistons on Friday night. Starters Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby sat out for the Knicks, as did new backup guard Jose Alvarado, who was acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans last Thursday.
Yet the Knicks had a full starting lineup in Detroit on Jan. 5, when the Pistons rolled to a 121-90 victory. The first loss to Detroit was one of the low points of a lengthy skid for New York, which went 2-9 from Dec. 31 through Jan. 19 while falling to the lottery-bound Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks.
“Our group is resilient,” said Knicks head coach Mike Brown, who was hired after Tom Thibodeau was dismissed following a six-game loss to the Pacers in last season’s Eastern Conference finals — New York’s first trip to the conference finals since 2000.
“Sometimes things like (Friday) happen in Detroit. None of us like it. None of us want to go through it. Give Detroit a lot of credit, but we know it’s not who we are. We’ve played a lot better than that. We will.”
The Pacers’ hopes for the 2025-26 season likely ended in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last June 22, when star guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles in the first quarter of a 103-91 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Indiana, which was seeking its first NBA title, has fallen to last place in the Eastern Conference without Halliburton, who will miss the season. The Pacers are 13-40 and on pace for the worst record in franchise history.
The loss Sunday may have been a particularly costly defeat for the Pacers, who have dropped four straight following a 7-5 stretch from Jan. 8-31. Second-year guard/forward Johnny Furphy suffered a right knee injury while landing awkwardly following a dunk in the third quarter. He was helped off the court before he took a wheelchair to the locker room.
MRI testing Monday reportedly revealed a torn ACL for the Australian native, who had recently shown considerable promise for the organization while starting 21 of his 35 regular-season appearances in his second season in the league.
The Pacers were already without Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, who have yet to play since they were acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Zubac, who was on paternity leave at the time of the trade, is playing through a left ankle injury suffered in December.
“It’s kind of yo-yo’d a little bit,” Carlisle said of Zubac’s injury before Friday’s 105-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. “My understanding from talking to him is that there’s still something there that’s not quite right. We’re not going to put him out there until he’s really ready.”
As eager as Zubac may be to get on the court, Carlisle said they’ll take their time with his return.
“He’s a guy that has played 94 or 95% of his games through his career and I’m presuming that’s because he’s always raring to go through things,” Carlisle said. “That’s not going to be an option here.”
