New York Knicks v Indiana Pacers; Reggie Miller; Spike Lee; Jalen Brunson

The New York Knicks have become the toast of the US sports world on their historic run to the Eastern Conference finals.

The biggest sports market in America finally has a team to crow about after years of mediocrity in the NBA.

Over the past 10 seasons big name players have bypassed the Knicks for the Nets in Brooklyn, with the Knicks viewed as a basket case where players’ careers go to die.

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Commentators had said for years the first team to lead the Knicks deep into the postseason or win a championship would forever be cherished by the city.

And that dream is closer than ever for New York basketball fans and the current iteration of the Knicks.

After some shrewd acquisitions in the front office and on the court, the sleeping giant of the league is awake, hungry and spreading an air of excitement not seen in years.

The Knicks haven’t won an NBA championship since 1973. They nearly ended their lengthy Eastern Conference finals drought last year, only to lose on their home floor to the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the second round.

With two new starters and much better health, the Knicks finally made it this season for the first time in 25 years.

The opponent will be those same Pacers, who return to Madison Square Garden for a series that begins Thursday (AEST).

Both teams have history of poking one another as their rivalry has bubbled intensely since the 1990s, with a litany of memorable moments that have been immortalised by ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series.

One of the more noteworthy, was when the Knicks were labelled “chokers” by Pacers’ great Reggie Miller, who also told renowned Knicks fan and film director Spike Lee to “choke on my nuts” and “shut the f— up b—-” as he led his team back to an improbable win in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals.

The Knicks were up 70-58 after three quarters and looked to be on their way to a 3-2 lead in the series.

However, Miller had other ideas and scored 25 points in the fourth to rally the Pacers to a 93-86 victory, taunting Lee, who was seated in the front row, mercilessly about his choking team.

That was just a footnote in the timeline of iconic moments the Pacers and the Knicks have given the NBA for more than 30 years.

Since their last trip to the conference finals in 2000 — another loss to the Pacers — the Knicks had reached the second round only once time until doing it each of the last two years following the arrival of Jalen Brunson.

So finally getting over that hump with their 119-81 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 on Saturday was a significant step.

The Knicks had a 2-0 lead in the series against the Pacers last year before they were decimated with injuries, and Indiana ran them off the floor in Game 7.

New York then traded for Mikal Bridges shortly after the season and made a blockbuster move to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota just before the start of this one. It didn’t appear those were going to be the final moves that built a championship team, as the Knicks finished 51-31, well behind Cleveland and Boston, and went a combined 0-8 against those teams.

But they won’t have to worry about the Cavaliers, who lost in five games to the Pacers, and completely turned things around against the Celtics. New York overcame 20-point deficits in the second halves of both games in Boston to open the series.

The resolve the Knicks showed in those comebacks wasn’t there during the regular-season matchups against the Celtics, when the first three were blowouts. But maybe the Knicks have found it just in time.

“When you’re in these situations, especially in the playoffs, we talk about that New York grit, that unrelentless belief that we will never lose,” Towns said. “And I think that this series, when you want to go deeper into the playoffs, you have to have that and we showed it this series and I think that was really special for us.”

The Knicks were heavy underdogs going into the series after the ease with which the Celtics handled them in the regular season. Boston obviously wasn’t quite the same team after Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon late in Game 4, but the Celtics were still the defending champions and felt they had enough to win even without their leading scorer.

Instead, the Knicks were so dominant in Game 6 that Brunson was asked afterward if their victory in the series felt like an upset.

“Regardless of what anyone thinks, upset or not, we’re just happy to come out of this series with a win and moving on we’ve got to prepare for another team,” he said.

The Pacers have been on a tear since mid-December, going 48-19, surging into the East’s No.4 seed and earning home-court advantage in the first round for the first time since 2013-14.

This run has been even more impressive than the previous one that saw the Pacers eliminate the Knicks last year and fall short to Boston in the conference finals. This year they eliminated Giannis Antetokounmpo and fifth-seeded Milwaukee, the 2021 NBA champs, in five games by sweeping three home games. They also knocked out Donovan Mitchell and top-seeded Cleveland in five games by sweeping the three road games.

And they did it in ways that seemed unfathomable a year ago. The Pacers did it with tough, physical basketball, never backing down from the challenges and even turning their oft-criticised defence into a strength.

As a result, Indiana erased deficits of 20 points in Game 2 at Cleveland and 19 points in a decisive Game 5 on the Cavs’ home court, thanks largely to Tyrese Haliburton’s 3-point shooting and putting Indiana within four wins of reaching its second NBA Finals in franchise history.

Haliburton, who was voted the league’s most over rated player in a survey by his peers, was pivotal in two big comebacks.

He ended Milwaukee’s season with a last-second layup in overtime of Game 5 and left Cleveland in a 2-0 hole after grabbing his missed free throw and knocking down a last-second 3. Both baskets, eight days apart, capped two Pacers rallies from seven points down in the final 40 seconds — something that had happened only one other time in the previous 1,643 playoff games going back to 1997-98.

Their resilience has created confidence anything is possible, and it may not have happened without last year’s rollercoaster postseason.

On top of all the fanfare about both sides and their run to the NBA’s final four, the Pacers and New York Knicks have faced each other eight times in the postseason.

And those clashes have cashed out some huge moments for the league over a 30-year span.

Here’s a look at some of the incidents that captured the imagination of fans and observers of the game:

John Starks headbutts Reggie Miller

The first playoff meeting between the teams came in the first round of the 1993 postseason.

The Knicks led 2-0 and were trying to complete a sweep of the best-of-five series when guard John Starks believed Reggie Miller was getting away with fouling him and became frustrated.

As they ran downcourt face-to-face exchanging words, Starks leaned in and headbutted Miller. Starks was ejected and the Pacers went on to win the game.

Miller taunts Spike Lee after Knicks blow lead

The Knicks were up 70-58 after three quarters in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, seemingly on their way to a 3-2 lead in the series.

Miller then scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Pacers to a 93-86 victory, taunting Knicks superfan Spike Lee on the sideline by making a choke signal. The Knicks would win the next two games to reach the NBA Finals.

Miller goes off for 8 points in nine seconds

Miller’s flurry to steal Game 1 of the 1995 Eastern Conference semi-finals remains one of the most memorable and improbable comebacks in NBA history.

The Knicks led 105-99 before Miller quickly hit a 3-pointer with about 16 seconds left after Indiana inbounded from the sideline.

He then stole Anthony Mason’s inbounds pass, dribbled backward and fired in another 3 to tie the game. Starks then missed two free throws, Patrick Ewing missed a follow shot and Miller grabbed the rebound and was fouled, hitting both free throws to make it 107-105 with 7.5 seconds remaining.

“Mason choked and threw it to me, I hit a 3, and we almost cost us the game when Sam (Mitchell) made that foul, but John Starks choked and we came up big,” Miller said in his postgame interview with NBC on the court.

Larry Johnson’s four-point play

The highlight play of New York’s run to the 1999 NBA Finals as a No.8 seed came in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Pacers.

With the Knicks trailing 91-88, Larry Johnson made a 3-pointer as he was fouled by Indiana’s Antonio Davis with 5.7 seconds remaining. Johnson hit the free throw to complete the four-point play and the Knicks held on to win 92-91.

Record night sinks Knicks in 2024

The Pacers had one of the best offenses in NBA history in 2023-24 and used it to carve up the Knicks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Pacers shot 67.1 percent from the field, an NBA playoff record, in their 130-109 victory in Madison Square Garden.

Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 26 points, then wore a sweatshirt with a picture of Miller making the choke sign to Lee at MSG to his postgame news conference.

– with AP