Knicks Set to Face Pacers in Eastern Conference Finals: Favorites for Second Time in 50 Years

The New York Knicks have secured their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2000, with a dominant 119-81 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The Knicks will now face the Indiana Pacers in the conference finals, and are poised to make a deep run in the playoffs and potentially reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1994. The Knicks' victory was a dominant performance, with New York outscoring the Celtics by 38 points in the second half. Julius Randle led the Knicks' offense with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while RJ Barrett added 22 points and 7 assists. The Knicks' defense was also impressive, holding the Celtics to just 32.8% shooting from the field and 26.3% from three-point range. This will be the first time the Knicks have had home-court advantage in a conference finals series since 1994, and they will be the favorites to win the series when it begins on Wednesday. According to Sports Odds History, it is only the second time the Knicks have been East finals series favorites since 1975. The other time New York was favored was in 1994, when the Knicks were -200 favorites against the Pacers and won in seven games. However, New York ultimately lost the NBA Finals that year to the Houston Rockets in seven games. The Knicks have made the conference finals five times in the past 50 years, and four of those matchups were against Indiana. New York has won two of the previous three series against the Pacers. The Knicks opened as a 4.5-point home favorite in Game 1 of the series against the Pacers, with a total of 222.5 points. The Knicks were initially -140 favorites to advance to the NBA Finals on Friday night, with the Pacers a +115 underdog. By Saturday morning, the Knicks' odds had risen to -150, while the Pacers' odds had moved out to +125. Despite being a tough opponent for New York in the past, the Knicks will look to continue their dominant play in the conference finals against the Pacers. With home-court advantage and a strong performance in Game 6, the Knicks are poised to make a deep run in the playoffs and potentially reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1994.