Healthy and revamped Knicks look to get revenge.
The Knicks and Pacers hadn’t been good at the same time in a while and they also hadn’t played each other in any meaningful games in nearly a decade, which led to a lot of people forgetting just how much mutual hate there is between these franchises and fan bases. That all changed this past season though.
Indiana continued to build out their roster around blossoming point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, with a group of young guys that bought into Rick Carlisle and his system. And the results were incredible. While the defense left a lot to be desired early on in the season, Haliburton rewarded Indiana by turning them into what was statistically one of the greatest offenses of all time. Then, they doubled down and went all in as they traded for Pascal Siakam midseason. The former Raptor helped take some of the offensive load off of Haliburton, who dealt with a nagging hamstring injury, and the team looked to be peaking at the right time down the stretch.
New York, unlike Indiana, got off to a slow start. They limped out the gates and found themselves scrambling to find their footing in late December. The Knicks, like the Pacers, traded for a key Toronto Raptor, and it changed the trajectory of the season. While they dealt with a myriad of injuries, they pushed through and finished their 50-win season as the second seed.
The two teams met in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, and the series was one for the ages. While the Knicks ultimately fell short, the seven-game series had all the drama. Off the court, Josh Hart and Reggie Miller had a back-and-forth, Carlisle complained about the officiating, and fans of both teams went at it online. And on the court, the games were mostly close contests with both sides trying to find a way to squeeze past to face the Celtics in the conference finals.
Indiana would go on to win against an injury riddled New York team that finished the series with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson all out of seriously compromised. Now, heading into the 24-25 campaign, the rivalry feels renewed. The Pacers want to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke, and the Knicks want to show what they can do when fully healthy.
Knicks’ Record vs Indiana in 2023-24: 1-2
- December 30, 2023: Pacers won 140-126
- February 1, 2024: Knicks won 109-105
- February 10, 2024: Pacers win 125-111
In the first matchup, the Pacers showcased their elite offense by scoring 140 points on their home court. The Knicks, led by 38 points from Donte DiVincenzo, and 28 points a piece from Brunson, and Randle, did manage to score 126 points of their own. But it ultimately wasn’t enough to overcome the Pacers, who saw four different players score 20 or more points, with Haliburton adding 23 assists to his 22 points.
In game two of the season matchup, Indiana got off to a hot start, going up 36-26 in the first quarter. But the rest of the game went the way of the Knicks as they won every quarter thereafter. The Knicks limited Siakam to just 18 points on 8-19 shooting and held what appeared to be a still injured Haliburton to just 15 points in 22 minutes. New York, who was already without Anunoby and Randle at this point, got 40 points from Brunson, 20 points from DiVincenzo, and an absurd 47 rebounds from Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa, and Hart.
Game three of the series went the Pacers’ way with the team failing to get enough support for Brunson’s 39 points and Alec Burks’ 22 points. While the game was an incredibly close back-and-forth affair for two quarters, New York ran out of gas and Indiana pulled away in the second half, winning the third and fourth quarters by a combined 11 points. Much like they did in the first game of the season series, they got very balanced contributions all around as Myles Turner, Haliburton, Siakam, and T.J. McConnell scored 23, 22, 19, and 16 points respectively.
Knicks/Hawks 2024-25 Schedule:
- Fri, Oct 25, 2024: Pacers @ Knicks(ESPN)
- Sun, Nov 10, 2025: Knicks @ Pacers (MSG)
- Tue, Feb 11, 2025: Knicks @ Pacers (TNT)
Atlanta’s Offseason Moves:
In:
Enrique Freeman (Draft)
Johnny Furphy (Draft)
Tristen Newton (Draft)
Cole Swider (Free Agency)
James Wiseman (Free Agency)
Out:
Doug McDermott (Free Agent)
Jalen Smith (Bulls)
Oscar Tshiebwe (Jazz)
Isaiah Wong (Free Agent)
The Pacers’ offseason looks uneventful at first sight. They made no major trades and while Johnny Furphy has shown flashes of being a solid player down the road, he’s likely a couple of years away. But the Pacers and their fans will presumably still consider this summer a successful one as they were able to sign Siakam to a four-year $189.5 million max contract. Now, with Haliburton, Siakam, McConnell, Nembhard, and former Knick, Obi Toppin all signed until at least 2027, their core, much like the Knicks’ is here to stay. And it should lead to many more fun battles down the road.
Projected Starters:
PG: Tyrese Haliburton (IND) / Jalen Brunson (NYK)
SG: Andrew Nembhard(IND) / Mikal Bridges (NYK)
SF: Aaron Nesmith (IND) / OG Anunoby (NYK)
PF: Pascal Siakam (IND) / Julius Randle (NYK)
C: Myles Turner (IND) / Mitchell Robinson (NYK)
When healthy, the Pacers should run out the same exact starting lineup we saw them utilize throughout the playoffs. This gives them the perfect balance of offense and defense with Haliburton and Siakam running the charge and Nembhard, Nesmith, and Turner doing the dirty work on the defensive end. Now, on paper, the Knicks’ starting lineup looks better than the Pacers at least four, if not five, of the positions. But the battles between these two teams could be won with the bench where the two teams matchup a bit more evenly.
Knicks’ Predicted Record vs Indiana this season: 2-1
Given how last season ended, I’d love nothing more than to proclaim that the Knicks will sweep the season series against the Pacers. And they definitely can. As mentioned above, New York has the better starting lineup on paper, and while the Pacers bench was a strong point of theirs last season, the Knicks’ depth is quite impressive as well, with two of last season’s playoff starters now moving there.
But the Pacers are still really good and give the Knicks some matchup problems. Turner is the kind of spacing big man that Robinson and the Knicks have long struggled against, and while Nesmith and Nembhard can’t stop Brunson, they should be able to at least make things somewhat difficult for him. And we haven’t even gotten to the head of the snake in Haliburton, whose pick-and-roll game, especially when healthy, will be able to find holes in the Knicks’ defense regardless of how good it should be next year.
I get that the Knicks never got to play the Pacers with their healthy lineup, and I do think that in a seven-game series, a New York team with a healthy Randle, Anunoby, Robinson, along with newcomer Mikal Bridges should win in five or six games. But in the regular season, I think Indiana finds a way to protect their floor in one of their two home games against the Knicks.