Knicks throttle Pacers in home opener as newcomers shine

The Knicks look a lot better when they’re not playing the Celtics.A stingy Tom Thibodeau defense, a horrifying night for Tyrese Haliburton and a balanced offensive attack resulted in a 123-98 blowout Knicks victory over the Pacers in their home opener Friday night.It was the opposite three days prior in a one-way defeat at Boston, an embarrassing performance but with no carryover to the next game.All was better at home, especially Mikal Bridges, who was lights out with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting while locking up Haliburton.It reached the point of the Garden breaking into a “Let’s Go Yankees” chant immediately after Giancarlo Stanton launched a two-run homer 3,000 miles away against the Los Angeles Dodgers; the power of cell phones.Whereas Jayson Tatum barbecued the Knicks in Boston, Indiana top dog Haliburton went scoreless in 26 minutes.Only five months earlier, Haliburton relished his role as the Garden’s enemy in the second-round playoff series, eliminating the Knicks in seven games and wearing a sweatshirt featuring Reggie Miller’s infamous choke sign.His encore was a dud.The Pacers guard missed all eight of his shots, including seven from beyond the arc.The Knicks outscored Indiana by 23 points with Haliburton on the floor.

They were up by double-digits for the final 26 minutes and 31 after three quarters.It was a massacre.Haliburton, who was picked for the U.S.Olympic Team over Jalen Brunson, appeared in the summer at the Garden for a WWE show, where he was confronted in the ring by a chair-wielding Knicks point guard.“I should’ve hit him with the chair,” Brunson joked this week.Instead, Brunson pummeled Haliburton’s team with basketball moves and plenty of help.Each Knicks starter scored in double-digits, with Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points, 15 rebounds) producing exquisitely in their home Garden debuts.It was a rematch of the last meaningful basketball game at the Garden — a Game 7 Knicks defeat — but hardly a continua...