The final time the Knicks have been within the Japanese Convention Finals, the Indiana Pacers stood of their manner.
Identical goes for the time earlier than that.
And the time earlier than that.
The Knicks’ rivalry with the Pacers dates again to their bitter battles of the Nineteen Nineties, which kicked off an epic eight-year run during which the groups met in six playoff collection, together with thrice within the convention finals.
Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson every delivered all-time highlights throughout these hard-fought postseason bouts.
The rivalry has been renewed twice within the a long time since then, most lately in final yr’s second spherical, when this present iteration of Indiana eradicated the Knicks within the seven video games.
“My dad’s from New York,” Pacers middle Myles Turner stated after final yr’s Recreation 7 win at Madison Sq. Backyard. “He grew up on this series and this rivalry.”
And now they’ll do it once more.
Wednesday night time’s Recreation 1 on the Backyard is ready to kick off the ninth playoff collection between the Knicks and Pacers.
The Pacers gained 5 of these earlier eight collection, together with every of the final three.
It began in 1993, when the Ewing-led Knicks defeated Miller’s Pacers within the first spherical, after which escalated the next yr throughout an instant-classic Japanese Convention Finals.
That 1994 collection went seven video games, throughout which Miller emerged as the final word Knicks killer.
Miller scored 25 factors within the second half of Recreation 5 on the Backyard to finish a livid Pacers comeback, throughout which he flashed the notorious “choke” signal amid an animated back-and-forth with Knicks superfan Spike Lee.
The Knicks would win that 1994 collection, nonetheless, with victories within the closing two video games, together with a Recreation 7 highlighted by Ewing’s go-ahead put-back dunk with 26.9 seconds left in regulation.
The Pacers exacted revenge throughout the 1995 convention semifinals, profitable a collection that once more went seven video games.
Miller famously scored eight factors in 8.9 seconds late in Indiana’s Recreation 1 win to finish one other unbelievable comeback.
In Recreation 7, Miller and Ewing each scored 29 factors, however the Pacers eked out a 97-95 win on the Backyard.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 11: Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller pumps his fist throughout the 1995 Japanese Convention semifinals in opposition to the Knicks. AFP PHOTO (Photograph credit score ought to learn JOHN RUTHROFF/AFP through Getty Photos)
Three years handed earlier than the Knicks and Pacers met once more within the 1998 second spherical, a collection the Pacers gained in 5 video games.
The 1999 Japanese Convention Finals introduced a extra aggressive rematch. Ewing suffered a postseason-ending partial Achilles tear in Recreation 2 of that collection, however the Knicks nonetheless managed to advance in six video games thanks largely to the late-game heroics of Johnson.
In Recreation 3, Johnson’s four-point play with 5.7 seconds left turned a three-point Knicks deficit right into a 92-91 win.
Allan Houston averaged a series-high 19.0 factors per recreation over these six video games.
The Knicks and Pacers met but once more within the 2000 Japanese Convention Finals, with the Pacers profitable in six video games. Miller erupted for 17 factors within the fourth quarter of Indiana’s Recreation 6 win, which marked Ewing’s closing look with the Knicks.
That loss began a 25-year drought for the Knicks, who at the moment are again within the Japanese Convention Finals for the primary time since then.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle have been assistants on their respective groups throughout these playoff conferences from 1998-2000.
The rivalry obtained new life in 2013, when the Pacers beat the Knicks in six video games within the convention semifinals.
The lasting picture from that collection was Roy Hibbert’s emphatic block on Carmelo Anthony with 5:03 left in Recreation 6. The Knicks led, 92-90, on the time of the block, which served as a turning level within the Pacers’ series-clinching 106-99 win.
Carmelo Anthony is defended by Rob Hibbert in Recreation 1 of their 2013 collection. (Photograph by Elsa/Getty Photos)
Final yr’s second-round collection was equally dramatic.
Donte DiVincenzo made a game-winning 3-pointer with 40.1 seconds left within the Knicks’ Recreation 1 win on the Backyard.
In Recreation 2, with Miller within the constructing for the TNT broadcast, Jalen Brunson overcame a first-quarter foot harm and scored 24 second-half factors to place the Knicks up 2-0 within the collection.
The Pacers evened the collection with two wins in Indiana, together with a Recreation 3 victory capped by Andrew Nembhard’s step-back 31-footer with 17.1 seconds remaining.
The Knicks would win Recreation 5, however accidents started to take their toll.
Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanović missed the complete collection, whereas Mitchell Robinson missed all however Recreation 1
OG Anunoby sat out of Video games 3 by 6 because of a hamstring pressure. Josh Hart suffered an belly pressure in Recreation 6.
The Pacers gained Recreation 6, throughout which DiVincenzo and Turner received snarled on a display, resulting in an on-court spat.
“They were trying to be tough guys,” DiVincenzo stated afterward. “That’s not their identity.”
And in Recreation 7, the Pacers blew out the Knicks, 130-109, on a day the left-handed Brunson broke his taking pictures hand.
Afterward, Pacers level guard Tyrese Haliburton donned a hooded sweatshirt with a picture of Miller making the choke gesture.
“When you win a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, you’ve made history,” Carlisle stated on the time. “It’s very, very difficult to do. This is the most raucous crowd in the NBA.”
The Knicks are a lot more healthy this time round. Gone are Randle and DiVincenzo, whom the Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Cities, as is Bogdanović, who was a part of the deal that introduced again Mikal Bridges.
The Pacers, in the meantime, boast largely the identical roster, although Bennedict Mathurin, their third-leading scorer, missed final yr’s collection after shoulder surgical procedure.
The Knicks haven’t been to the NBA Finals since 1999. Indiana has not been there since 2000.
A type of droughts will lastly die. However the Knicks-Pacers rivalry is as alive as ever.
