The New York Knicks will be looking to get themselves back on track in front of their fans when they face off against the Indiana Pacers at the Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Both teams picked up contrasting results in their respective season openers, as the Knicks suffered a humiliating defeat to the Boston Celtics while the Pacers saw off the threat of the Detroit Pistons.
Match preview
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After making significant additions to their roster during the off-season, the New York Knicks had an early opportunity to put their championship credentials on display against defending champions Boston Celtics but were comprehensively beaten 132-109 at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Tom Thibodeau‘s men found themselves down by 19 points at the end of the first quarter despite shooting an impressive 55% from the field, as they were annihilated from beyond the arc after giving up 10 three-pointers and scoring just 1.
That set the trend for the remainder of the contest as the Celtics outscored the Knicks 29-11 from deep to kick off their title defence in grand style against one of the sides heavily billed as major contenders to usurp them.
New arrivals Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns posted 16 and 12 points respectively on their competitive debuts for the Knicks, with the former tallying the worst +/- score (-33) of any of his teammates.
Indeed, it was a rough opening night for last year’s Eastern Conference semi-finalists, who have the opportunity to get back to winning ways against the side that knocked them out of the playoffs courtesy of a thrilling 4-3 series defeat after being down 3-2.
The last of those seven games came at the Madison Square Garden on May 19, when the Pacers won all four quarters to stun the home crowd into silence and advance into the conference finals, which would eventually end in a sweep against the Celtics.
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The Indiana Pacers punched significantly above their weight last season en route to reaching the Eastern Conference and In-Season finals and will be looking to put on another strong showing this season having retained their core squad members.
Rick Carlisle‘s men got their campaign underway with a 115-109 triumph over the Detroit Pistons in Thursday’s meeting between the teams which has produced one of the most entertaining opening fixtures so far.
Down by eight points after the opening 36 minutes, the Pacers rallied in the final quarter to complete a 14-point swing away from home and kick off proceedings on a winning note at the Little Caesars Arena.
The Pacers largely had Bennedict Mathurin to thank for their impressive comeback last time out as the third-year guard racked up 14 of his 19 points down the stretch in his first regular-season appearance since March.
In the second of two straight matches on the road to start the season, a mouth-watering clash against the Knicks now awaits Saturday’s visitors less than 36 hours before their home opener against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday evening.
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Team News
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Twenty-three-year-old Kevin McCullar Jr is currently nursing a knee problem and remains a major doubt to feature for the New York Knicks in this weekend’s affair.
However, Precious Achiuwa is a guaranteed absentee after straining his left hamstring in his side’s pre-season finale against the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is also unavailable here, meaning that Jericho Sims will continue his role as backup center to Karl-Anthony Towns after his 24-minute runout against the Celtics.
Small forward Isaiah Jackson missed the Pacers’ win over the Pistons last time out due to a groin problem but could be back in time to suit up for Saturday’s game.
James Wiseman lasted just five minutes in his first NBA outing for his new employers after sustaining a left calf injury which is set to rule him out of the trip to New York.
New York Knicks possible starting five:
Brunson, Hart; Bridges, Anunoby; Towns
Indiana Pacers possible starting five:
Haliburton, Nembhard; Nesmith, Siakam; Turner
We say: Knicks to win by 6+ points
The New York Knicks were far from their best against the Celtics and will be keen to make amends when they take to the court in front of their fans.
An encounter against the Pacers is likely to represent another stern challenge, but we are backing the home side to make amends for their horror show last time out and get their season up and running.
