Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN the New York Knicks (15-23) will head to Indiana to kick off an NBA double-header against the Pacers (30-7) while fighting the distractions caused by last season's Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith. The game can be live streamed here free; Knicks fans can listen to the game on the radio on 98.7 ESPN New York, while Pacers fans can follow along on 1070 The Fan.
The Pacers have one of the Association's stingiest defenses, allowing opponents just 88 points per game. The Knicks aren't particularly potent, so they may need their basket-case reserve Smith to get it together and pile up points.
The Knicks will welcome back center Tyson Chandler to the lineup who missed the past four games with an illness. "Any time you sit out multiple games, you have to try to work your way back in," Chandler said. "Get your strength back, conditioning, timing, the team has to get used to you. All those things come into play.
"Obviously Indiana has been playing great basketball throughout the year, so it will be a tough one, but it will be a nice challenge for us."
The Knicks, who were an embarrassment to begin the year, have started to click lately. That hasn't escaped New York-born Pacers guard Lance Stephenson.
"The Knicks have been playing well," Stephenson said. "We just have to stop what they like to do and bring energy, and bring excitement. Play hard defense, send them to Roy (Hibbert), who's doing a good job playing defense and blocking shots."
The marquee matchup will be Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks, last season's scoring champion, against Pacers' swingman Paul George. He is the league's top perimeter defender not named LeBron James, who also leads Indiana in scoring with 22.8 points a game.
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