The Indiana Pacers look for revenge as they were routed by the New York Knicks in their meeting last October 26th, 123-98.

Catch the game tomorrow at 6:00 AM, Manila time.

AWAY: New York Knicks (4-4, 2-3 AWAY)

Projected starting five:

• Jalen Brunson
• Mikal Bridges
• Josh Hart
• OG Anunoby
• Karl-Anthony Towns

Concern is slightly brewing on the Knicks as they are only in the .500 mark after all the offseason reloading they did. However, they do have a +5.3 net rating, averaging 113.6 points per game and allowing 108.6 on the other end. Also, the win over the Pacers weeks back is at least an encouraging sign for Monday’s game.

The starters did their thing in the victory. Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart all scored over 20 points, with Towns and Hart also collecting double-doubles. All are coming in with confidence and more added energy for another showdown against their conference rival, so we may see something similar tomorrow, especially Brunson since he is in a key matchup with a fellow offensively equipped guard.

Don’t forget that the Knicks were ousted by the Pacers in the recent playoffs, and that most believe that Indy only won because New York was hobbled by injuries. They have plenty of motivation to keep pounding on the Pacers.

HOME: Indiana Pacers (4-5, 21 HOME)

Projected starting five:

• Tyrese Haliburton
• Andrew Nembhard
• Aaron Nesmith
• Pascal Siakam 
• Myles Turner

The Pacers have been disappointing. They entered the season as darlings thanks to a league-leading offense that lit up defenses in 2023-24, which helped bring them all the way into the Eastern Conference Finals. Three weeks in and they don’t even have a winning record, and only 12th in scoring (114.2 PPG)

Lead guard Tyrese Haliburton is front and center on the team’s slow start as he is only mustering 14.7 points and 7.7 assists on an abysmal 37.9% on the season, a farcry from the 20-plus points and 10-plus assists he had posted in each of the last two years. He actually shot 0-of-8 for 0 points in the aforementioned Knicks loss – though the rumored nagging injury makes all of this understandable.

Veterans Pascal Siakam (20.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.7 APG) and Myles Turner (16.4 PPG, 1.8 BPG) have been doing a decent enough job of filling the shortcomings. Second-year guard Ben Mathurin is in that mix as well, providing an added offensive threat, which is an interesting matchup opposite the Knicks defense.

PICKS:

Spread: Pacers (+3.5)

Over/Under: Over (228)