Eastern Conference contenders are going to clash yet again, as the Indiana Pacers (29-24; 28-22-ATS) and New York Knicks (33-19; 29-21-2 ATS) are meeting in Madison Square Garden. On February 1, these teams collided in the Garden, with the Knicks finishing with a 109-105 win. That avenged Indiana's 140-126 home win against New York to end December. Will this final matchup be another celebratory one for the home fans, or are the Pacers going to run the city on Saturday night?
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Indiana had the Warriors on Thursday, and things got ugly on their home floor. The NBA's highest-scoring offense only mustered 109 points in the 22-point loss. Tyrese Haliburton (questionable) has been playing on a minutes restriction lately, which hasn't helped. Still, this team is first in offensive rating, paired with the third-highest true shooting percentage. They have top-10 efficiency from every scoring level. Along with that, Indiana is 13th in turnover percentage and 12th in offensive rebounding percentage. The Pacers don't take many trips to the charity stripe, but they don't need to.
Meanwhile, their defense is 28th in points allo wed per game. The Pacers are 26th in defensive rating. They allow the highest percentage of shots to come at the rim, are the worst team at defending midrange areas, and rank 21st in three-point percentage allowed. Indiana is 27th in defensive rebounding percentage and surrenders the most free throw attempts per contest. They've allowed more than 125 points in three of their past four games. Will Indiana get enough stops on Saturday night?