The No. 3 seed New York Knicks and No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers will begin their Eastern Conference finals series with a Game 1 matchup at Madison Square Garden on

The Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, the New York Knicks (51-31), will take on the No. 4-seed Indiana Pacers (50-32) in the Eastern Conference finals, the third round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. It’s a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals, which the Pacers won in seven games.

The Knicks have dropped their last three postseason matchups to Indiana, two of which came in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Go back even further, and you’ll find their heartbreaking six-game loss to the Pacers in the 2000 Conference Finals — the last time New York made it that far.

May 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles the ball during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

After his Indiana Pacers defeated the Knicks in Game 7 of last year’s second-round playoff series, Tyrese Haliburton sat down at the Madison Square Garden podium wearing a hoodie with an image of

Tyrese Haliburton is flying out Pacers fan Hanz Perez to a playoff game after he was hit with trash in New York for wearing his jersey 🔥 (Via @PatMcAfeeShow ) pic.twitter.com/13cAskkBmj

The stage is set for the Eastern Conference battle between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. They’ve worked their way to earn a spot in the third round of the 2025 NBA playoffs.

Given the star power the New York Knicks possess, coupled with the spotlight that comes with being a big-market franchise, it's no surprise that much of the media is backing them to easily get past the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals.