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Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough (right) dunks while New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire looks on.

For those who are Tyler Hansbrough fans, then you know what long and winding road he had to take to get to the NBA. As it were, league pundits had projected him to be a late-1st round pick in the 2009 draft, presumably because they had doubts about whether he could transition his college game to the NBA version.

The Indiana Pacers took him 13th in that NBA draft; based on his performance when the Pacers visited Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks Sunday, Larry Bird and company are looking like geniuses. Hansbrough and Dahntay Jones – who replaced Danny Granger, who was out due to taking IV’s – combined for 47 points, leading Indiana to a resounding 106-93 win over New York.

The Pacers raced to an early eight-point lead before the Knicks answered back with a flurry, taking its first lead when Chauncey Billups flung an outlet pass to Carmelo Anthony, who scored on a three-point play. His free throw made it 17-16 Knicks, but Indiana quickly regrouped and led 29-21 after one quarter of play, shooting 59 percent in the period.

The Pacers would take a 54-46 lead to their locker room at the intermission.

The eight-point Indiana lead would swell to 20, with 13 points in the third by Hansbrough – he made 5-of-6 – and they held the Knicks to 30 percent shooting from the floor. To compound matters for New York, Anthnoy and Amare Stoudemire rode the bench as both committed their fourth fouls during the quarter.

The Pacers would go into the final period ahead 85-72 and would coast to the easy victory. 

Hansbrough led the Pacers with a game-high 29 points, along with 8 rebounds while Jones added 18 with a rebound, 2 assists and a steal. Darren Collison chipped in 16 with 3 rebounds, 8 assists and a steal.

The Knicks were led by Stoudemire with 28 points, along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists while Anthony added 25 with 5 rebounds and a steal. Shawne Williams chipped in 13 (including three 3-pointers) with 4 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a block.

Indiana (28-38) and New York (34-31) return to Indianapolis for a rematch on Tuesday night.