The New York Knicks looked to win a fifth straight game on Wednesday at MSG against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the night after obliterating the Milwaukee Bucks by 30 points the night before. After averaging around 14 points a game in his last five outings, James Harden stepped up and looked like he did back in his prime, dropping a game-high 32 points, draining five threes in the process to give the Cavs a 115-107 win over the Knicks. New York, now at a 6-5 record, will look to move further away from an average .500 on Friday night when they take on the Indiana Pacers in another NBA Cup Group Stage matchup. Both the Knicks and Pacers lost their first NBA Cup Group Stage game of the season on October 30th, when New York took on the Philadelphia 76ers, and Indiana faced off against the Miami Heat. Who will pick up their first NBA Cup win of the season?
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks offense in Wednesday’s loss with 27 points, with Karl-Anthony Towns following with his 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Miles McBride nailed five threes off the bench and dropped 19 in 27 minutes. During the Knicks and Cavaliers’ first meeting of the season, New York out-rebounded Cleveland and committed fewer turnovers. However, in their second matchup, it was the Cavs who out-rebounded the Knicks 40-34, and Cleveland committed nine turnovers to New York’s 11. Heading into Friday’s matchup, New York must be rested and prepared to go up against the grittiness the Pacers bring every time these two teams match up on the court.
Indiana remains without their star point guard, two-time all-star Tyrese Haliburton, after he suffered a left hamstring strain on October 26th. In his absence, four-time all-star and 2019 NBA Champion Pascal Siakam has stepped up, averaging about 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Since Haliburton’s injury, Siakam has put up 20 or more in five out of seven games and scored over 25 points during his last two outings. Without their two-time all-star, the Pacers have lost to struggling teams such as the Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets, even with great performances by the 2019 NBA Champion. On Wednesday night, Indiana picked up their fourth win of the season in a 114-101 victory over the Washington Wizards. This win saw Siakam drop 28 points, while Ivica Zubac and Andrew Nembhard recorded double-doubles. Zubac finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Nembhard had 17 points and 10 assists. If the Pacers can continue this play, it will be a hard matchup for the Knicks to pull off a win.
Both teams may be coming into Friday’s game with different mentalities. Indiana may want to shoot the ball as efficiently as they can, draining as many threes from beyond the arc as they can, while New York will look to win the rebounding game and be cautious with their turnover situation. Andre Drummond must have an impact on the glass for the Knicks, while McBride, OG Anunoby, and Landry Shamet must help New York with their offensive struggles. Aaron Nesmith and Kelly Oubre Jr. must bring the intensity for the Pacers, while Nembhard and Nesmith must allow the offense to run smoothly, getting as many easy looks to Siakam as they can.
Every time I’ve predicted the Knicks will win a game, they somehow lost most of those this season. However, with the absence of Haliburton, they certainly have a better opportunity than they did before to win. New York must stop Siakam, Nembhard, and Nesmith offensively, while their own offense needs to cook up. I’ll say the Knicks win in a close 110-104 game, but with them playing in Indiana, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pacers took another game, the 2026 NBA Champions should have had in the bag.
