Inside look at Knicks-Pacers' intense Eastern Conference final history
The upcoming Knicks-Pacers series will mark the fourth time the rivals have met in the Eastern Conference finals.
Here's a look back at the first three:
1994
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Knicks win series, 4-3
This was a classic, and the start of an intense rivalry between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference over the next several years — including the Reggie Miller choke game in the 1995 conference semis.
The Knicks were the favorites, with Michael Jordan off playing minor league baseball, while the Pacers were coming off an upset of the top-seeded Hawks in the conference semifinals.
The series was even at two wins apiece when Miller flipped the series on its head, scoring 39 in a Game 5 shocker at the Garden that included him talking trash with courtside Knicks superfan Spike Lee.
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The Knicks responded by winning on the road and forcing a Game 7. Patrick Ewing brought them home with an epic 24-point, 22-rebound, seven-assist, five-block performance to send the Knicks to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1973. They would lose to the Rockets in a heartbreaking seven-game series.
3 Reggie Miller #31 of the Indiana Pacers drives against John Starks #3 of the Knicks in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 1994 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 26, 1994.
NBAE via Getty Images
1999
Knicks win series, 4-2
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The Knicks entered the series as the decided underdog as the No. 8 seed coming off back-to-back upsets of the top-seeded Heat and No. 4 Hawks. But they sent an immediate message by stealing Game 1 in Indiana to claim home-court advantage.
However, Ewing was lost for the rest of the postseason in Game 2, when he suffered a partial tear of his Achilles tendon. In Game 3, with the series even at one, Larry Johnson hit one of the most iconic shots in Knicks postseason history, a 3-pointer while getting fouled by Antonio Davis.
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The four-point play gave the Knicks a one-point lead with 5.7 seconds left, sending them to a dramatic victory. They held a 3-2 lead going back to the Garden for Game 6, when the injury bug bit them again.
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Johnson suffered a sprained knee, but Allan Houston took over down the stretch, scoring 32 points in the series-clinching victory. Before Friday night's rout of the Celtics, this was the last time the Knicks had closed out a series at home.
3 New York Knicks guard Allan Houston (L) is closely guarded by Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller (R) in the first quarter 05 June, 1999, in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY.
AFP via Getty Images
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The Knicks would lose in five games to the Spurs in the finals.
2000
Pacers win series, 4-2
The 56-win Pacers were favored to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, and got there by ousting the Knicks in six games.
The home team won the first five games of the series, leading to Indiana's clincher at MSG.
3 Patrick Ewing (L) of the New York Knicks is guarded by Sam Perkins (R) of the Indiana Pacers 31 May, 2000 during the first half of Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.
AFP via Getty Images
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Miller played the Garden villain again, pouring in 34 points — including 17 in the final quarter. This marked Ewing's final game as a Knick.
He was dealt to the Seattle SuperSonics in the offseason. The Pacers lost to the Lakers in six games in the finals.
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