Inside look at Knicks-Pacers' intense Eastern Conference final history
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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

Knicks win series, 4-3

This game marked the beginning of a fierce rivalry between two top Eastern Conference teams that would dominate the following years. It included the unforgettable Reggie Miller choke game during the 1995 conference semifinals.

At the time, the New York Knicks were considered the favorites as Michael Jordan was pursuing a career in minor league baseball. On the other hand, the Indiana Pacers had just caused an upset by defeating the top-seeded Hawks in the conference semifinals.

With the series tied at two wins each, Miller turned the tables by delivering an outstanding performance in Game 5. He scored 39 points in a shocking victory at Madison Square Garden, where he even engaged in some trash-talking with Knicks superfan Spike Lee who was seated courtside.

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.

1999

Knicks win series, 4-2

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.

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.



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.

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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