Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Knicks vs. Pacers

The Eastern Conference Finals are set to tip off Wednesday night, and it’s the latest chapter in one of the most historic rivalries in NBA history between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.

The Knicks and Pacers have met eight times in the postseason, six times between 1993-2000, with three of those meetings coming in the Eastern Conference Finals. The most recent postseason matchup between the two was the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals, where Paul George and company sent Carmelo Anthony packing in the Knicks’ deepest playoff run post-2000. 

Reggie and Spike to Jalen and Tyrese

The last time the Knicks made the conference finals was that 2000 season, and it was of course Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers who stopped them from reaching their second straight NBA Finals. In 1999, the No. 8 seed Knicks upset the No. 2 seed Pacers in the ECF en route to the most improbable NBA Finals appearance in history. 

The two teams first met in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994, a meeting that initially sparked the infamous rivalry between Miller’s Pacers and actor Spike Lee’s Knicks. Overall, the Pacers have a 5-3 record in postseason series against the Knicks. 

That history has snowballed into where we are today, ahead of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. Now it’s Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton who are defining this rivalry. And they’re doing it with the flair of WWE wrestlers, literally.

“I’m not going to get into everything I’d say to the team, but this is a great time of year,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s a matchup that has history. Madison Square Garden as an environment is one of the very best and most challenging in the league. It’s a great privilege to be a part of it.”

Present-Day Scrap

Much like those New York and Indiana teams that battered each other throughout the 90s, the present-day Knicks and Pacers are scrappy teams defined by their depth and their advantages in the margins. The Knicks arguably have the Reggie Miller-esque figure in this series in terms of Brunson’s stardom and bluntness, but Haliburton would be the most famous guy in the State of Indiana if Caitlin Clark weren’t playing there. 

While neither Brunson nor Haliburton immediately come to mind when discussing the biggest stars in the NBA, the hold they have on their individual markets can only be described as stardom. For Brunson, playing in New York obviously means that local popularity is magnified on a global scale. For Haliburton, much like Clark, it means becoming a name-brand symbol of success in Middle America. Keep in mind, he’s an Oshkosh, Wisconsin native and an Iowa State alum. 

The Knicks won the regular season series against the Pacers 2-1, though all three of those meetings occurred before the All-Star break. That’s especially relevant because the Pacers turned around their season with a 20-9 record post-break. They’ve also eliminated Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks and the 64-win Cavaliers in five games apiece.

“They’re an excellent basketball team, strong on both sides of the ball,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Their ability to push the ball. When you look at their guard play, particularly with Halliburton, Andrew Nembhard and TJ McConnell. They can push and they can break you down off the dribble. You’ve got to be very disciplined in your approach. They can spread you out.”

Closing Remarks

Game 1 is set to tip Wednesday at 8 pm EDT, airing live from Madison Square Garden on TNT. As a bonus, it will be the last playoff series broadcast on TNT for the indefinite future. As for my prediction, I’m going with the Pacers in seven games. They’ve been as good as any team in the NBA besides Oklahoma City since the All-Star break, and I kind of believe New York’s win over Boston was flukier than most analysts would probably lead you to believe. Nonetheless, it will be neck and neck and in truth it could go either way.