Last Updated on July 17, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Here’s a timeline of notable events between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers basketball teams:
1. 1949: The New York Knicks join the NBA.
2. 1976: The Indiana Pacers join the NBA when the ABA and NBA leagues merge.
3. 1983-1984 Season: The Knicks and Pacers play their first regular season game. It was won by the Knicks 127-106.
4. 1990s: The Knicks and Pacers become rivals and meet each other numerous times in the playoffs, including three seasons in a row (1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95).
5. 1993 First Round: The Knicks and Pacers played in the first round and the Knicks won the series 4–2.
6. 1994 Eastern Conference Finals: The Knicks and Pacers meet in the conference finals with the Knicks winning for the second year in a row in seven games.
7. 1995 Eastern Conference Finals: The Pacers played the Knicks in the conference finals again, this time managing to beat the Knicks in seven games. Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 8.9 seconds to help the Pacers beat the Knicks in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
8. 1998 Eastern Conference Finals: The Pacers and Knicks meet in the conference finals again. The Pacers beat the Knicks in six games.
9. 2000 Eastern Conference Finals: The Pacers finished the regular season first in the East while the Knicks were third. The Pacers defeated the Knicks 4–2.
10. 1999 Eastern Conference Finals: The Knicks led by Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell defeated Reggie Miller’s Pacers 4–2.
11. 2004 First Round: The Pacers defeated the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
12. 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals: The Knicks and Pacers met in the conference semifinals. Led by Jalen Brunson, the Knicks narrowly beat the Pacers 4–3. Donte DiVincenzo scored 39 points in game 7.
13, Recent Years: The Pacers and the Knicks have faced each other eight times in the playoffs, with six of those times being in the 90s.
The Pacers and Knicks are fierce Eastern Conference Rivals who went 20 years between 2004 and 2024 before they met each other in the playoffs again. The Knicks were favorites to win that time, in part due to the injury to Bennedict Mathurin. Both teams have promising futures and may see each other in the playoffs again before the 2020s are done.