Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart Applauded by NBA Fans as Knicks Beat Haliburton, Pacers

Things might go a bit differently next time around if the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers face each other again in the playoffs.

At least they will if Tuesday's game is any indication.

New York cruised to a 128-115 victory over Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and improved to 35-18 overall and 8-2 in the last 10 in the process. The Pacers are trending in the opposite direction at 1-3 in the last four, although they are still a solid 29-23.

The Knicks didn't have Karl-Anthony Towns when they lost to Indiana in seven games in the second round last season, but they surely wish they did. After all, he was unstoppable on his way to 40 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals on 14-of-23 shooting from the field.

He wasn't the only member of the visitors to impress, as Josh Hart helped make up for Jalen Brunson's quiet game with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 12-of-16 shooting.

Pascal Siakam led the way for the Pacers with 24 points, but it was Towns and Hart who drew the reaction from social media:

Indiana fans likely would have assumed their team cruised to a victory if someone told them Brunson would have just eight points, but the home team had no answer for Towns. The five-time All-Star had no trouble scoring from various spots with Myles Turner sidelined by injury.

Towns used his physicality to score on the blocks, extended his game beyond the arc with his shooting and even facilitated when the Pacers started collapsing on him. 

Turner would provide more resistance if these two teams do face each other in the playoffs, but Towns was in full control in Tuesday's game.

And nobody took advantage of the additional spacing that created better than Hart, who consistently cut into the lane and also helped the Knicks control the boards with his rebounding.

New York is rolling into the All-Star break at this point and will look to continue building momentum when it returns home to host the Atlanta Hawks in another Eastern Conference matchup on Wednesday.