Knicks vs. Pacers: A Rematch of Epic Proportions in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals
The Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed, the New York Knicks (51-31), will face off against the No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers (50-32) in the Eastern Conference Finals, the third round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. This is a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinals, which the Pacers won in seven games. It's also the ninth time New York and Indiana have met in the postseason since 1993, with the Pacers winning five of the eight previous matchups.
Spike Lee is still sitting courtside, and Reggie Miller will be on the call. The matchup between Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson is literally the culmination of a WWE storyline, as the past is never truly dead.
What we know about the Knicks:
The Knicks were unable to beat the best teams in the NBA until they found their footing. They had been middling for months, with a 28-21 record after January 1st, and the NBA's No. 14 offense and No. 16 defense in that span. However, head coach Tom Thibodeau implemented a switch-heavy defense, and the Knicks started to click. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges came up with massive fourth-quarter performances, and before you knew it, the Knicks were up 3-1 against Boston and their best player was out for the season. The Knicks now have a golden opportunity: win your home games, and you're in the NBA Finals.
What we know about the Pacers:
The Pacers are still one of the NBA's hardest-charging outfits, playing at the postseason's third-fastest pace behind only Memphis and Oklahoma City. Six Pacers—starters Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and reserve guard Benedict Mathurin—averaged at least 10 points per game on 50% shooting in the second round. This season, their balance extends to the defensive end, where Indiana ranks seventh in points allowed per possession over the past five-plus months. Nembhard and Nesmith are incredible and physical at the point of attack, Turner leads the postseason in blocks, and the Pacers' remarkable depth—11 players averaging at least nine minutes per game in this postseason—allows head coach Rick Carlisle to employ a full-court press more frequently and effectively than any other team in the NBA.
The combination of their fast pace, defensive steel, high-quality marksmanship in both the backcourt and frontcourt—Indiana leads the playoff field in effective field-goal percentage—and All-NBA-level play from Haliburton and Siakam has made Indiana one of the best teams in the NBA for months.
Head-to-head:
The Knicks won the regular-season series 2-1, posting two of their 15 most efficient offensive games of the season in their wins. The first was a 123-98 blowout all the way back in October, with Brunson, Towns
