One way to put an ugly loss well into the rear-view mirror?

Replace the memory with a convincing victory in the next game.

The New York Knicks did just that, bouncing back from Saturday’s 131-104 loss to the Boston Celtics with a 128-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday. It was the first game of a back-to-back leading into Wednesday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks before the weeklong NBA All-Star Break in San Francisco.

And it was a much-needed performance after the blowout loss to the Celtics cast doubt over New York’s place among the league’s elite as legitimate title contenders this season.

The Knicks might not be on par with the reigning champs, but Tuesday’s victory over the fourth-seeded Pacers proved New York isn’t in the same league as other teams not named Boston or Cleveland in the Eastern Conference.

“We can’t just dwell on what just happened. Obviously, we lost,” Jalen Brunson said after practice at the team’s Tarrytown, N.Y., training facility on Monday. “We got our asses kicked. How do we move forward from that? We can’t just sit here and feel sorry for ourselves.”

“They played very well,” added Josh Hart. “We didn’t play well, and they won. That simple.”

The Knicks were able to put the Pacers away without a signature performance from their two-time All-Star guard.

JBrunson finished with just nine points and seven assists on 4-of-11 shooting from the field, but his travel buddy for All-Star Weekend picked up the slack.

Karl-Anthony Towns poured on 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field, 3-of-8 shooting from downtown and a perfect 9 of 9 clip from the foul line to go with his 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals on the night. His performance was a complete 180 from the nine points and nine rebounds he posted in the loss to the Celtics.

Towns wasn’t the only player who had a bounce-back game in Indiana, either: Josh Hart logged his highest-scoring game of the season with 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the field to go with 10 rebounds and five assists.

Hart and Towns combined for 70 of the Knicks’ 128 points in Indiana and shot 26 of 39 from the field.

Miles McBride, who shot 1 of 8 for eight points in 35 minutes on Saturday, had 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field off the bench, and Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne combined for another 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field.

Pascal Siakam led the way for the Pacers with 24 points and five rebounds, and Benedict Mathurin chipped in 18 points off the bench, but the Knicks held All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton to just 16 points and eight assists on 2-of-6 shooting from downtown. Pacers center Thomas Bryant also logged 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists in his matchup against Towns.

Despite the disappointing loss to the reigning champions, Tuesday’s victory over the Pacers marked the Knicks’ eighth win in their last 10 games. They have a chance to make it four wins in their last five games hosting Trae Young and the Hawks back at The Garden on Wednesday.

____