- 1 Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks: no Haliburton, no home win, and a Knicks defense ranked seventh
- 2 Indiana Pacers: 0-4 at home and a defense allowing 114.2 a night
- 3 New York Knicks: Brunson at 26.2 and the third-best points allowed in the league
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
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Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks: no Haliburton, no home win, and a Knicks defense ranked seventh 
Tyrese Haliburton played four games this season, averaged 21.8 points and 9.5 assists, and then strained his left hamstring. That was reported on October 28, in his first weeks back from the Achilles tear he suffered in the 2025 Finals. Rick Carlisle estimated about two weeks at the time. As of Sunday he’s “progressing well” with no timetable.
Indiana is 3-7 and hasn’t won at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in four tries. The Pacers lost 98-90 to Brooklyn on November 1 and 108-104 to Atlanta a night later, both at home. Their last game was a 114-102 loss to Denver in Mexico City on Saturday, where they were outscored 37-22 in the second quarter.
New York is 5-4, fifth in the East, and has won three straight. The Knicks beat Brooklyn 103-90, routed Chicago 135-105 and then won 109-97 in Cleveland on Saturday.
Tip-off is Friday 13 November at 7:00pm ET in Indianapolis. The Knicks have a home back-to-back first, Milwaukee on Tuesday and Cleveland on Wednesday, and then a day off. Indiana plays in Dallas tonight and hosts Washington on Wednesday.
The Knicks took last season’s series 3-1. Two of those wins came in Indianapolis, 114-113 on December 18 and 101-92 on March 13. The Pacers’ one win was a 137-134 overtime game at Madison Square Garden in February.
Friday is the first of three meetings this season. The teams play again on November 22 and on April 11, so the Knicks get an early look at a Pacers roster that will look different once Haliburton is back.
Indiana Pacers: 0-4 at home and a defense allowing 114.2 a night 
Pascal Siakam leads the Pacers at 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard has stepped into the lead guard job with 17.8 points and 7.0 assists, and Obi Toppin is scoring 13.9. Aaron Nesmith adds 12.1.
The numbers around them aren’t good. Indiana’s offensive rating of 109.7 ranks 20th, its defensive rating of 113.6 ranks 17th, and the net is -3.9. The Pacers allow 114.2 points a game. They play at the eighth-fastest pace in the league, which gives opponents more possessions to punish a soft defense.
Ivica Zubac, acquired from the Clippers in a February 2026 trade, has played five games and is averaging 7.6 points and 8.6 rebounds. He’s the one big body Indiana can put on Karl-Anthony Towns.
Kelly Oubre Jr. is scoring 8.5 a game off the wing. Rookie guard Braden Smith, whose draft rights came from Chicago in June, is part of the backcourt picture too, though the minutes have mostly gone to Nembhard and the bench guards.
The guard depth is thin. T.J. McConnell is questionable with a right hamstring strain. Ben Sheppard is out for months after knee meniscus surgery, and Johnny Furphy is out with a knee problem. That leaves Nembhard and Quenton Jackson, at 10.0 points, handling most of the ball.
The most recent win came in Memphis, 107-103 on November 4. All three of Indiana’s wins have come away from home, and that 0-4 record at Gainbridge is the number I keep coming back to.
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New York Knicks: Brunson at 26.2 and the third-best points allowed in the league 
New York allows 104.2 points a game, third-fewest in the NBA. The defensive rating of 108.6 ranks seventh, and the net rating of +5.9 is almost ten points per 100 possessions better than Indiana’s.
Jalen Brunson is averaging 26.2 points and 5.6 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns has 20.9 points and 13.6 rebounds, and OG Anunoby is scoring 16.4. Landry Shamet, at 9.3 points, has given Mike Brown a bench shooter who’s earned his minutes.
Josh Hart is day-to-day. He’s averaging 8.6 points and 7.3 rebounds, and if he sits, Andre Drummond’s 7.8 rebounds in his minutes cover a lot of what’s lost on the glass. Mikal Bridges, scoring 6.6 a game, is having a quiet start.
The Knicks play at the 29th-fastest pace in the league, 96.0 possessions per 48 minutes. That matters against a Pacers team that ranks eighth in pace. New York’s games have been grinds, and its only loss in the last four was a 98-93 game in Philadelphia.
Two games in two nights at home on Tuesday and Wednesday, then a short flight to Indianapolis with a day off in between. That’s a manageable week, not a dangerous one.
Probable lineup Indiana Pacers: Not announced at time of publication
Probable lineup New York Knicks: Not announced at time of publication
Free NBA Prediction: Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks
Our prediction: New York Knicks to win (moneyline at 1.52)
The Knicks are 1.52 on the early moneyline and the Pacers 2.33. I’d back New York at that price. Their net rating is +5.9, Indiana’s is -3.9, and the Pacers haven’t won a home game this season.
Haliburton is the swing factor. If he returns, Indiana gets back a 21.8-point, 9.5-assist guard, and the price will move. Without him, Nembhard is running an offense rated 20th against a defense rated seventh, and the guard behind him, McConnell, is questionable himself.
The Knicks won both games in Indianapolis last season, by one point and by nine. Their slow pace drags games into the half court, and Towns has a size edge on everyone but Zubac. New York wins this one by single digits.
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