East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The Indiana Pacers battle the New Jersey Nets at Continental Airlines Arena Friday in a rematch of an opening-round playoff matchup from last year.

The Pacers won their season-opener on Wednesday, as Jermaine O'Neal scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Indiana to a 91-82 win over the Houston Rockets at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Ron Artest finished with 20 points and Erick Strickland added 19 for the Pacers, who shot 42 percent from the floor. Ron Mercer netted 12 points as Indiana recorded its third straight win over the Rockets.

The Pacers were triumphant despite a career-high 39 points from Houston's Steve Francis and the NBA debut of Yao Ming, the top pick in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Indiana won its six straight season-opener, including all four at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Pacers were without Reggie Miller and Jamaal Tinsley due to injuries. Miller (ankle) is expected to be sidelined for the first two weeks of the regular season, while Tinsley (ankle) is questionable for Friday's game.

A day after Wednesday's win, Indiana announced that forwards Ron Artest and Jonathan Bender signed contract extensions.

In the Nets' season-opener Wednesday, Jason Kidd collected 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds to lead New Jersey past the Atlanta Hawks, 105-94. Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson chipped in 15 points apiece for the defending Eastern Conference champions. Martin also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Kerry Kittles, Dikembe Mutombo and Lucious Harris each had 13 points for the Nets. Mutombo was making his New Jersey debut after being acquiring from Philadelphia in exchange for forward Keith Van Horn and center Todd MacCulloch.

New Jersey took three of four meetings with Indiana last season, including both at Continental Airlines Arena. However, the top-seeded Nets were stretched to the limit in the opening round of the playoffs against Indiana before moving on with a double-overtime victory in Game 5.

The Pacers have dropped five of their last seven at New Jersey.