INDIANAPOLIS — Facing off against the Knicks in a battle between two East teams that seem destined for the playoffs, the Pacers failed to put up much of a fight on the boards or on defense in their return home to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

A superstar performance by Karl-Anthony Towns, a big night from Josh Hart and a dominant night on the boards allowed the Knicks to overcome foul trouble by Jalen Brunson to blow by the Pacers for a 128-115 win, Indiana’s third loss in its past four games and the first night of a back-to-back that includes a trip to Washington on Wednesday night.

Towns poured in 40 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, dished out five assists and made three steals for a Knicks team that shot 55.8% from the field, outscoring a Pacers team that got 24 points from Pascal Siakam, 16 points and eights assists from Tyrese Haliburton, 18 points from Bennedict Mathurin off the bench and 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Thomas Bryant in place of Myles Turner, who will not return to the lineup until after the All-Star break due to the cervical sprain he suffered last week.

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Player of the Game: Josh Hart

Hart played the antagonist for the Gainbridge crowd at the end of the first half, drawing a foul on Andrew Nembhard — and a subsequent technical foul on Thomas Bryant — by recoiling from incidental contact with Nembhard’s arm as if he’d been elbowed in the throat by an ultimate fighter.

But it was what Hart did the rest of the game that hurt the Pacers more.

While Karl-Anthony Towns dominated the first half, it was Hart who stepped into the void left by Jalen Brunson’s foul trouble to keep the New York offense running.

Repeatedly slashing through the middle of an ineffective Indiana defense, Hart knocked down 12 of 16 shots to score 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists, driving the Knicks offense to a dominant performance on a night when Brunson picked up his fifth foul just three minutes, 23 seconds into the second half and found himself on the bench, watching Indiana unsuccessfully try to close the gap the Knicks built at the end of the first half.

Turning Point

The Pacers were able to avoid the slow starts that plagued them on their four-game western road trip. Indiana fought its way out to a 22-17 lead after the first 8:20 of the game, battling New York on the boards and limiting New York’s points in transition.

This time, the run that sunk the Pacers didn’t come until midway through the second quarter. Indiana kept pace with a red-hot Towns through the first half of the quarter, but after an Obi Toppin layup gave the Pacers a 47-46 lead with 6:23 left in the half, New York put together a 15-3 run.

Towns had done most of the heavy lifting through the first half, but New York’s guards did most of the damage in the run, a stretch exacerbated by Tyrese Haliburton’s foul on a Miles McBride 3-point attempt.

By the time the run was over, the Knicks had a 61-50 lead, and although the Pacers crept within striking distance a couple of times in the second half, the damage had been done.

Play of the Game

The lone bucket from Towns during New York’s big first-half run was sublime, a baseline drive past Thomas Bryant and a dunk over Aaron Nesmith that drew a sharp intake of breath from the crowd.