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High-scoring teams square off as Pacers visit Knicks

Feb 23, 2009 - 2:33 PM Indiana (24-34) at New York (23-32) 7:30 p.m. EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers are the two highest-scoring teams in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately it hasn't translated to very many wins.

The Pacers aim for their third straight win Monday when they visit the Knicks in a matchup between the Eastern Conference's two highest-scoring teams.

Despite playing well of late, Indiana currently is 12th in the Eastern Conference and trails eighth-place Milwaukee by 3 1/2 games.

The Pacers are one-half game behind the Knicks, who enter Monday's contest as the NBA's fourth-highest scoring team at 105.5 points per game. Indiana is fifth, averaging 104.6 points per contest.

Indiana has been without its top two scorers - Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy - for the past five games but fared surprisingly well, going 4-1.

Troy Murphy has been picking up the slack nicely, averaging over 21 points. He went off for 27 points and 14 rebounds Sunday in a 98-91 win over the Chicago Bulls to lead four players with at least 16 points.

Murphy knocked down 3-of-5 3-point attempts against the Bulls as Indiana went 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.

New York is coming off Sunday's 111-100 loss at Toronto. Al Harrington scored 31 points, but the Knicks allowed over 100 points for the 10th time in the last 11 games.

The teams have split two meetings this season, with New York taking the most recent contest, 122-113, on January 31 behind 31 points from Harrington and 17 rebounds from David Lee.