Knicks-Pacers Rivalry Renews Itself in NBA Playoffs

• The Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs are here, and the headline Knicks-Pacers Renew Rivalry is eerily fitting given their history
• Both teams have rabid fan bases, are good and entertaining, but neither was expected to be here
• New York has a rising star with personality in Jalen Brunson; Indiana is led by All-Star point guard and assist machine Tyrese Haliburton
• The teams have met 8 times in the playoffs, with Indiana winning 5

The Knicks Are Heavily Favored in the Series

Team	Series Moneyline
Indiana Pacers	+145
New York Knicks	-165

A Circumstantial and Historical Dislike

The Knicks and Pacers are not natural rivals. Their home cities are far apart in seemingly every way, and it goes beyond geography. The towns and their populace are vastly different, with the 24/7 madness of New York City compared to subdued, conservative Indiana. There isn’t a visceral hatred as there is between the Knicks and Celtics or even the Knicks and the Heat. It’s circumstantial and historical dislike, more than a longstanding animosity.

The teams and fan bases loathe each other when they compete for NBA supremacy.

The ninth series in the Knicks-Pacers rivalry is set to get underway.

Here are the 4 most prominent series between the teams.

1994: KNICKS WIN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, 4 GAMES TO 3

The Knicks were expected to win the title in 1993 after securing the #1 seed. They won the first two games of the Conference Finals against the Bulls, but lost the next four. In 1994, with Michael Jordan’s retirement, the biggest perceived obstacle was removed from the equation. There was also a magical element surrounding Madison Square Garden as the New York Rangers were making their long-awaited Stanley Cup run.

The Knicks had to win…didn’t they?

They were the #2 seed in the conference, but the #5 seed Pacers bounced the #1 seed Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semis, so it was another Knicks-Pacers battle.

This was different from the previous year. The Pacers were on the rise, adding future Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown before that season.

The Knicks won the first two games and it looked like they had a clear path to the Finals. But they lost the next three to fall behind 3 games to 2.

The Knicks won Game 6 relatively easily. Then, in Game 7, the Knicks trailed by one with 34 seconds remaining, but Patrick Ewing’s tip-in gave the Knicks the lead, and the Pacers and Miller subsequently unraveled.

The Knicks were up 3 games to 2 over the Rockets in the Finals before losing the last two games in Houston. It remains their best shot at a title in the past 52 years.

1995: PACERS WIN EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS, 4 GAMES TO 3

This series was a seminal moment in the direction of the Knicks franchise.

Jordan was back with the Bulls, but he was not yet in full basketball playing shape as he’d spent the previous year playing baseball before making an NBA comeback. They lost to the Magic in the other Eastern Conference Semis.

The Knicks had Game 1 in their hands.

It was over…until it wasn’t.

New York led 105-99 with 18.7 seconds remaining. Miller hit a 3 to make it 105-102. The Knicks’ Anthony Mason botched an inbounds , panicked, and threw the ball right into Miller’s hands. Miller stepped past the 3-point line and hit another trey to tie the score.

John Starks was fouled and missed both free throws. Miller was fouled and hit both. As the Knicks brought the ball downcourt for a final play to try and win it, Greg Anthony fell, and they didn’t get a shot off.

Miller ran off the court, called the Knicks a “buncha choke artists,” in an assertion few could argue with, given the circumstances.

The Knicks rebounded to win the second game, but lost the next two. Indiana won Game 5, the Knicks took Game 6, and the Pacers won 97-95 in Game 7 when Patrick Ewing’s drive and scoop shot rimmed out.

Coach Pat Riley resigned via fax after reportedly having illicit about ing the Heat and making contract demands to stay with the Knicks, including an ownership stake, that were designed to be rejected.

The Pacers lost to Shaquille O’Neal’s Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals in 7 games.

But what would have happened if the Knicks broke through that season and won the title in a rematch with the Rockets? Would Knicks ownership have been compelled to keep Riley and give him the power he sought?

Judging by the Heat’s success with Riley running the organization and the Knicks’ plummet into embarrassment and irrelevance, history might have been vastly different had Riley stayed.

1999: KNICKS WIN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, 4 GAMES TO 2

In a lockout-shortened season, the Knicks barely made the playoffs as the #8 seed under Jeff Van Gundy, who was expected to be fired if (when) they flamed out in the playoffs. They had traded for Latrell Sprewell in desperation before the season. Sprewell was fresh off his choking incident with coach P.J. Carlesimo.

Facing the #1 seeded Heat, New York finally got a favorable bounce in Game 5 when Allan Houston’s number hit the rim and bounced in, sending Riley and the Heat home.

The Knicks and Pacers met in the Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana, now coached by another Knicks nemesis, former Celtics star Larry Bird, had the home court advantage. The Knicks were without Ewing, who had partially torn his Achilles. But after splitting the first two games, the Knicks won Games 5 and 6 relatively easily.

They lost in the Finals to the Spurs in 5 games.

2000: PACERS WIN EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS, 4 GAMES TO 2

The Pacers were the #1 seed in the East, and this was their chance to break through and make the Finals. They still had the same core with Miller, Smits, and Davis. Over the prior several years, they had added Jalen Rose, Mark Jackson, and Sam Perkins. The Bulls dynasty was no more.

This was Ewing’s final series as a Knick.

The teams split the first four games before Indiana took the final two to advance to the Finals, where they were beaten in 6 games to the Shaq-Kobe Bryant-Phil Jackson Lakers.

The Knicks-Pacers Rivalry is Back in 2025

The Knicks have not gotten this far in the playoffs since that loss in 2000. They have been mostly terrible during that time. For the Pacers’ part, they have been a consistent playoff participant and made it to the ECF four times, losing all of them.

So, are you ready for another battle between these playoff rivals?

What’s your take on the latest iteration of the Knicks-Pacers rivalry as to what will happen?

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