NBA Eastern Conference Preview

By: Marcus A. Gonzalez

In a postseason full of many exciting plays and highlights, there are now only two teams remaining in the Eastern Conference playoffs – the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. Both teams have shown plenty of resilience throughout the postseason, as both teams knocked out heavy weights on their way to the conference finals. But how did they get here?

Indiana Pacers

“Last year’s run was the fluke.”

That’s what the doubters were saying after the Pacers’ conference finals meltdown at the hands of the eventual champion Boston Celtics in a sweeping fashion (4-0).

Fast forward nearly a year later, and these Pacers have proven their doubters wrong. Led by all stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, the Pacers steamrolled their way back to the Eastern Conference Finals, knocking out a short-handed Milwaukee Bucks team (4-1) thanks to a game-winning layup by Haliburton to send Giannis Antetokounmpo and his squad packing. However, no one could have predicted what happened next.

In the second round, they faced a heavily favored Cleveland Cavaliers, and this was no joke. This Cavaliers team won a surprising 64 games on their way to earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed, their first time since 2016, when they were led by LeBron James.

The first game was a wake-up call, as the Pacers went to Cleveland and smacked the number one seed in the mouth, stealing the game by a score of 121-112. Sharpshooter Andrew Nembhard led the way with 23 points, to go along with six assists. Haliburton (22 points, 13 assists, and 3 rebounds) and Siakam (16 points, four assists, and 8 rebounds) put up efficient numbers to combat Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell’s 33 points to help Indiana steal Game 1 on the road.

Game 2 did not get off so hot for the Pacers, getting outscored by Cleveland’s offense 32-15 in the first period. However, a quick run before halftime cut the lead to 11 before the break. In the third quarter, the Pacers offense kept up with the Cavaliers sharp shooting, but it wasn’t enough, as Cleveland was feeling themselves going into the fourth quarter up by 14. However, in the fourth quarter, the Indiana Pacers proved they wanted it more than the Cavs, outscoring them 36-21 in the final quarter, headlined by a Tyrese Haliburton go-ahead three pointer to take the lead 120-119 with 1.1 seconds remaining, to give him 19 points on the night, and eventually stealing Game 2, and leaving 19,432 fans at Rocket Arena in Cleveland stunned as the series shifted to Indiana.

Following a Game 3 blowout loss at home by a score of 126-104, the Pacers went into Game 4 in front of their 17,274 fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and put on an offensive clinic. Headlined by Pascal Siakam’s 21 points on an efficient 9-10 shooting from the field, the Pacers tipped the scales back in their favor, keeping Cavaliers “Big 3,” consisting of all stars Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley, in check, holding them to a combined 43 points on a whopping 12 for 29 shooting from the field, shifting the scales in their favor as the series shifted back to Cleveland for Game 5.

Game 5 was do-or-die for the Cavaliers, who came out swinging in the first quarter, outscoring the Pacers 31-19 and keeping them in check. However, that was as close as it got from there, as the Pacers went on to dominate the rest of the way, outscoring the Cavaliers in the next two periods 33-25 and 33-20. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 31 points to go with 10-15 shooting from the field, as well as 6-10 from beyond the arc.

Donovan Mitchell’s 35 points and nine rebounds were simply not enough, as the Pacers starting five each scored in double figures, sending the Pacers to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals, a feat they have not accomplished since the 2013 and 2014 seasons, which saw them fall at the hands of LeBron James and the back-to-back NBA Champion Miami Heat.

Can the Pacers ride this momentum to an Eastern Conference Championship, or even better, an NBA Championship?

New York Knicks

“But there is nothing in New York like when the New York Knicks are winning. There is nothing in New York like when the New York Knicks are relevant.”

That is what Stephen A. Smith had to say in 2021 when the Knicks clinched their first playoff spot since 2013. And wouldn’t you know it, fast forward over four years later, look how New York City celebrated on the night of May 16, 2025. People climbing light poles, to the top of jumbotrons outside of MSG, constant trash talk. Celebrated like it was a championship – a feeling that probably you or your parents have not experienced, as this team hasn’t gotten close since the 1999 NBA Finals, when an 8-seeded Knicks team lost to a complete and selfless San Antonio Spurs team. Fast forward a quarter of a century later, the fans are feeling great heading to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000, when they lost to a familiar foe: the Indiana Pacers.

After seeing a resurgence in 2021, led by Julius Randle, the Knicks have quietly assembled a squad that could possibly put them over the hump and into serious title contention for years to come. In 2023, they quietly signed 2018 second rounder Jalen Brunson, a 6’2, 190 pound, somewhat proven point guard out of Villanova, to a four-year, $104 million contract. At the time, it was a ballsy move, as the Knicks front office has always been known to hand out fishy contracts.

But this time, they struck gold. Brunson led the Knicks back to the playoffs in 2023 and led them to a 4-1 upset win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, their first series win since 2013. In the second round, they fell to a much tougher 8-seeded Miami Heat squad, who like the Knicks, went on to become the second team in NBA history to reach the NBA Finals as an 8 seed.

The following year, the Knicks managed to make their way back to the playoffs, this time, as the Eastern Conference’s two seed. After narrowly defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, the Knicks found themselves in a familiar position – the favorite in a second round series against a bitter rival. This time, the challenge was to knock out the six seeded Indiana Pacers, who were led by an up-and-coming Tyrese Haliburton.

Easy task, right? Well, not exactly.

Injuries plagued the Knicks, with players such as Josh Hart, mid-season acquisition OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson, and eventually Jalen Brunson, played a big part in the Knicks second round defeat at the hands of the Pacers in seven games.

However, Knicks management made it clear – they would be back.

On July 6, 2024, they acquired former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Mikal Bridges for five pick swaps with their crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets. But this was just a hint for what was coming.

On October 2, 2024, the Knicks shocked the world by acquiring Minnesota Timberwolves superstar big man, and New Jersey native, Karl-Anthony Towns in a blockbuster that sent Julius Randle and reliable wingman Donte DiVincenzo to the Wolves.

Even with all this news, there was still doubt about the Knicks chemistry, and how this new core would mesh. But those doubts were quickly put to bed, as the Knicks improved on their 50-32 record the previous season, by finishing with a 51-31 record, good for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

In Round One, they faced a surprising, but gritty Detroit Pistons team that pushed them to six games, with Jalen Brunson hitting the game-winning three pointer in Game 6 to send the Knicks to the second round for the third year in a row.

However, it would be no easy task, as the Knicks would have to face the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics, with many picking the Celtics to take the series in five games. And at first, it looked like the Celtics were going to run away with Game 1. However, the Celtics after three quarters collapsed unexpectedly, going a whopping 10-40 from beyond the arc, and allowing the Knicks to come back from down by as many as 20 points. The game came down to one inbounds play with 3 seconds remaining in overtime. Mikal Bridges showed up and proved why the Knicks gave up as much as they did to get him, stealing the ball from 2024 Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown as time expired, leaving TD Garden shocked.

Game 2 started off similarly, with the Celtics once again going up by 20 points in the second half. But one thing kept lingering – the long ball. After going 10-40 in Game 1, the Celtics topped that by going 15-60 from three in Game 2. And like déjà vu, Mikal Bridges once again proved the Knicks right by trading for him. After Jalen Brunson sank two free throws with 12 seconds left in regulation to give the Knicks the lead, the Celtics had a chance to take the game back. As Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum went up the floor to make a pass to his partner-in-crime Jaylen Brown, look who was waiting for him: Mikal Bridges. The Knicks did it again. And now they were two games away from potentially their first conference finals birth since 2000 as the series shifted to the Big Apple.

After the Celtics shot the lights out in Game 3, getting right back in the series, the Knicks knew they could not let this Celtics team get hot. The Celtics flipped the script, and Jayson Tatum looked like Michael Jordan, scoring 20 in the first half as the Celtics went into halftime up 62-51. However, as they say, nothing lasts forever, and that’s what happened to the Celtics momentum in Game 4. In the second half, Jalen Brunson turned into the next coming of Magic Johnson, scoring at will and making circus shots like they were nothing.

At this point in the game, the best players on each team were exchanging blow for blow, until the unthinkable happened. With 3:08 left in the game, Jayson Tatum slipped on a wet spot and felt a pop in his lower right leg. He finished the game leading all scorers with 42 points at the time of the injury. The Knicks did not look back, however, scoring 10 points in the final five minutes to take Game 4 and put them one win away from their first conference finals appearance in 25 years.

After a Game 5 Celtics win, the eyes of the sports world were on Madison Square Garden, as the Boston Celtics, without their superstar Jayson Tatum, who had been diagnosed with a torn Achilles prior to Game 5, looked to push the series back to Boston. However, their hopes were quickly put to bed, as the Knicks led by as many as 42 points in a rout of the defending champions, with a final score of 119-81. And with that, the Knicks currently find themselves the closest they’ve been to winning the Larry O’Brien since 1999.

The Knicks and Pacers rivalry has been considered one of the, if not the greatest, rivalries in the NBA. These teams have exchanged memorable blows since their first meeting on February 9, 1977, when the Pacers won 110-109. From Reggie Miller’s eight points in eight seconds at the Garden to Roy Hibbert rejecting Carmelo Anthony in the 2013 Semifinals, to now Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton squaring off at WWE in 2024. One thing is certain – this series has the chance to be remembered as an all-time classic.

After a comeback win in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series, the Pacers will look to take the first 2 games in the Garden in Game 2 on Friday night.