Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each scored 21 points in the Knicks' home debut, beating the Pacers 123-98

Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges made their home debuts for the New York Knicks on Friday, giving fans at Madison Square Garden a hopeful preview of even better nights to come with a 123-98 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Towns scored 21 points by shooting 5-for-11 from the floor, 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and 9-for-10 on free throws. He added 15 rebounds and two blocks in a tough matchup against Pacers center Myles Turner. Bridges also scored 21 points and went 2 of 3 with five assists. Because of the Knicks' large lead, neither player had much time in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 26 points, reminding fans who the team's true star is. He also had five rebounds and five assists, easily winning his match against Tyrese Haliburton, who surprisingly remained scoreless for the Pacers on 0-for-8 shooting (0-for-7 on 3s). Josh Hart added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.

Indiana was led by Bennedict Mathurin with 20 points, followed by 13 points and seven rebounds from Turner. Pascal Siakam and Jarace Walker each scored 12 points for the Pacers (1-1).

Towns had a lackluster game in the Knicks' opening game on Tuesday against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. He scored 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting (1-for-2 on 3s) and seven rebounds in a 132-109 loss. But Towns got to that score in the first half against Indiana, hitting both 3-pointers and adding two blocks.

Bridges didn't fare much better against Boston, largely due to poor shooting on 3-pointers. He missed his first four shots from behind the arc and scored 2-7 from distance. He finished the race with 16 points. However, he rebounded brilliantly against Indiana.

The Knicks acquired Towns in a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves nearly a month ago, coming to New York in exchange for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick. Towns filled a big hole in the middle: Mitchell Robinson was out until at least December with an ankle injury and Isaiah Hartenstein moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder on a free transfer.

Before getting Towns, Bridges was the Knicks' big offseason signing in a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for Bojan Bogdanović, four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-rounder, an unprotected pick swap and a second-round selection.

New York (1-1) has a break until Monday, when it hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers (2-0). The Pacers have a matinee matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers (0-2) on Sunday.