Knicks fans old enough to remember the season-opening blowout loss to the Celtics won’t believe what happened at MSG Friday

Before last night, the last time the New York Knicks saw the Indiana Pacers was at Madison Square Garden for a Game 7. OG Anunoby played five minutes, Jalen Brunson broke his hand and the season ended in the most bitter way possible. New York didn’t have enough. Indiana had more than enough, and Tyrese Haliburton mocked the Knicks, infamously donning a Reggie Miller sweatshirt for his postgame interview.

So after losing to the Boston Celtics being bent over a barrel of tea by the Beantown Bombers in the season opener, everyone knew what was at stake for Brunson and Co. heading into the home opener. New York needed a statement game against the very team that ended their season last year, after being the punchline/springboard for Boston’s title defense on national television. An 0-2 start to the most anticipated Knicks season in over a decade would have set the Big Apple ablaze with chants of “Fire Thibs!” and/or “Trade Bridges!” (And after the Yankees lost Game 1 of the World Series in extra innings the way they did, who’s to say anything would have been left of the city come morning?)

Instead, the Madison Square Garden crowd was joyfully roaring “We want Tyler!” with nearly five minutes left, clamoring for the rookie Kolek with their team up 30 in what ended a 123-98 win. Brunson and Co. delivered, the star point guard making 26 points, five rebounds and five assists look effortless. Karl-Anthony Towns proved the two-way bruiser Tom Thibodeau envisioned years ago in Minnesota, grabbing 15 rebounds and recording 3 stocks. And the seemingly broken man, Mikal Bridges, provided the most complete individual performance of the night: 21 on 8-of-12 shooting, hitting two of three from deep while being equally effective on the defensive end.

And the aforementioned Haliburton’s last laugh from that fateful day in May lost its echo in the vacuum that was his performance in his return to Madison Square Garden. The former All-Star dropped a newly notorious goose egg, shooting 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-7 behind the arc. The new Knicks dismantled the very same Pacers that marched onto their hardwood five months ago in an emphatic act of closure.

Notes

• Bridges is going to be just fine. Since missing his first seven shots in that fateful first half in Boston, he’s made 17 of 18, including two of three from deep. Fans marching on MSG with analysis and breakdowns of his “broken” jumper have retreated whence they came and will likely remain there for the foreseeable future, anxiously awaiting the next apparent flaw or sign of weakness from their “favorite” basketball club.

• It’s not just Bridges’ offense that inspires. He and Anunoby are getting better every minute they’re on the floor, the win over Indiana proof of the benefits to proper communication and chemistry. The duo — dubbed “Wingstop” by Knicks Twitter — was everywhere, deterring and disrupting any Pacer efforts at forming a rhythm on offense.

• Strickland colleague Zach Blatter made a great point regarding Towns’ body language: not only is it an improvement on you-know-whose, it matched the Garden at every interval Friday night. Towns displayed all the best parts of his game while the Knicks played in ways to minimize his weaknesses. The big fella spaced the floor, used his size to make defining plays on defense and gave fans the pick-and-pop highlight with Brunson we could get used to seeing more often.

• I was disappointed by Anunoby’s four points on 1-of-7 shooting in Boston. I thought he played too timidly on the offensive end. A majority of that can be credited to Thibs’ playcalling and strategy for matching up with the Celtics, as can the weird avoidance of deploying him on Tatum. But that’s in the past now, with Anunoby proving a constant on offense Friday with 14 on 6-of-12 shooting, thriving in space, forcing turnovers and riding the momentum shift to easy baskets in the open lane. For as much as fans have made of Bridges needing to be connective tissue for the Knicks’ offense, Anunoby will have to be the muscle, compressing or contracting as needed to force the issue.

• What’s to be said for Josh Hart, the so-called “lost” member of a newfound offense? I suppose you could say that he’s found after 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal in 36 minutes. He played through what appeared a nagging hamstring early on and a shot to the face later as he continues climbing Thibs’ power rankings of favorite players. Has he passed Jimmy Butler? How about Derrick Rose? Don’t ask about Taj Gibson – his place atop the hierarchy is etched in the concrete he wore as shoes during his last few seasons in New York.

• Oh, that’s right: Jalen Brunson. In a game that could have easily been a career-night, the Knicks’ captain largely deferred, catering to the structure of a new offense, and still finished with 26/5/5 on 52% shooting and only one turnover. Say what you want about Boston, and New York’s adjustment period, but Brunson showed up ready to hoop. He hasn’t forgotten what was stolen last year. And don’t forget to mention his defense when you reference this game. Haliburton was Haliburnt after Brunson torched him on both ends.

• Someone else who showed up ready? Miles McBride, who should legitimately have a shot at Sixth Man of the Year when all is said and done. Over the first two games Deuce shot 11-of-14 overall and 6-of-7 from downtown without losing any focus on defense. I get the argument for starting him; trust me, I do. But if this is how he’s showing up this year, he’s exactly where he needs to be: loose and on the run with the second unit, firing jumpers in a way we’ve yet to see.

• Ariel Hukporti made his case for Jericho Sims’ place in the rotation. And something tells me he’ll continue to do so. Because a) there’s no way Thibs is turning away from Sims this early, and b) I firmly believe the Hukporti flashes we’ve seen will one day be consistencies – hopefully sooner than later. He reminds me of young Mitchell Robinson, with surer footing.

The Knicks are 1-1. Remember when they weren’t? When Bridges and Towns looked like recycled placeholders from other teams? When there was fear Brunson would defer to his new supporting cast? If we can learn anything after the drastic turnaround from Boston to New York, it’s to be present in the moment. Not captive to it.