The Indiana Pacers bounced back from their latest disappointing effort with their new best game of the year as they beat the new-look New York Knicks by a final score of 132-121.

Tyrese Haliburton (35/14) and Bennedict Mathurin (38/8) combined for 73 points and became the first Pacers duo to ever both score 35 points or more in the same regular season game. Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose accomplished it in the playoffs while each scoring 40 points in Game 1 of the Conferencr Semi-finals against the 76ers during the team’s run to the NBA Finals in 2000.

Rick Carlisle highlighted the “determination” of Haliburton as something he hadn’t seen before from him in the regular season to this extent and called Mathurin “a bucket.” It was the type of game the Pacers envisioned when they drafted Mathurin sixth overall.

This was the first game of the season where the Pacers won the game despite being out-rebounded and the Knicks shot 55% from the floor. This game was won from the 3-point line where the Pacers made 21 from deep out of 45 attempts and the Knicks made just 7 out of 25.

Indiana came into this one short-handed miss two starters, a key reserve, and both backup centers. Rick Carlisle offered updates on the injuries to Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and Obi Toppin. Something poetic about the Pacers beating the Knicks in this one while missing so many after all the talk about New York being unhealthy in the playoffs. To the grades! Video version with further grade context from me below.

Bennedict Mathurin – A+

Quote: “It just feels like it’s part of the offense. I think that’s where his growth is going to come from,” Pascal Siakam said of Mathurin, “just finding ways to be the killer that he is within what we do. I think tonight was the perfect example of that, just getting the shots that are there. If it’s not there, just continue to play. He’s a special player, man. When he’s got it going the way he got it going today, you’ve just got to keep feeding him the ball.”

Quote: “I think he’s just answered the bell, been ready to play,” Haliburton said. “You guys know who he is and how hard he works and how good of a scorer and player he is. He’s just doing what he does, honestly. It’s not a surprise to anybody in the locker room. He’s just playing the right way.”

Tyrese Haliburton – A+

Note on the first bullet point above: I watched Haliburton warm up and take many one-leg running 3-pointers but did not expect to see him attempt multiple of them in the game. He also had a stepback 3 in the corner to beat Towns that he missed about 10 times in a row during warmups before finally making one.

With just under eight minutes remaining in the game, Tyrese Haliburton came in and proceeded to score or assist on 27 of the Pacers last 29 points. The only two points that he didn’t get credit for on the box score was the Mathurin tip-in that came off of a potential assist from Haliburton on a missed open 3-pointer from the corner by Siakam.

Quote: “He just had that look in his eyes. I could make up some other bullshit but there are just times when great players just have a look in their eye that they are determined not only to have a great individual game, but to highly impact the game for themselves and their teammates,” Rick Carlisle said.

Quote: “Ty was aggressive. I just like when he plays that way. Just being aggressive,” Siakam said of Haliburton. “He has a great touch around the rim. I think just continuing to use that, once you see the ball go in a couple times, the three (point shot), everything just gets bigger and bigger.”

Myles Turner – B+

Pascal Siakam – B

Jarace Walker – B

T.J. McConnell- B- / Ben Sheppard – C

Enrique Freeman – C+ / Johnny Furphy – C / Quenton Jackson – B+

The contributions of these three should not be ignored. Just the fact that they were able to play these guys at all without hemorrhaging points was a win but they each did positive things while on the court. Jackson was the only one of the three that scored but he also played with a ton of energy and soaked up a few possessions guarding Brunson and made him work.

Freeman had one of the key sequences of the night that barely showed up in the box score when he set a great screen that forced the Knicks to get into rotation which resulted in a Walker 3-pointer, then contested a Brunson shot for a miss, quickly got back in-bounds to gather a rebound, then got a hockey assist on a swing, swing pass for another Walker three that got the Pacers the lead.

Johnny Furphy had a few solid defensive possessions, grabbed a tough rebound, and made his second basket of his career that didn’t end up counting as he scored after the first quarter buzzer. Critical that these three offered solid minutes with so many guys out. An embarrassment of riches indeed.

A banger from Pacers Reddit from u/hectorzeroni69. On the Knicks broadcast, Monica McNutt said the Pacers have an “embarrassment of riches” as they went 10-deep in this game.