Knicks Up For New Pacers Challenge

Defeated by Indiana in the semis last season, New York now have reset mentality for East Finals

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NEW YORK - The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are no strangers to each other in the National Basketball Association (NBA) post-season, given that the former eliminated the latter last season to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Now, a case could be made that this season's conference finals matchup is an unexpected one, given the massive roadblocks that each team faced in the semi-finals.

Fourth-seeded Indiana recorded their second straight five-game series win by dispatching the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, while third-seeded New York upended the defending champions Boston Celtics in six games.

Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers will renew acquaintances against Jalen Brunson and the Knicks on May 21 (May 22, Singapore time) in New York for Game 1 of their best-of-seven series.

Haliburton got the better of the matchup last season and played the role of the hero (or villain, depending on your point of view) in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

He punctuated his team's series victory by wearing a hoodie with an image of Reggie Miller's infamous 1994 "choke" taunt to Knicks superfan Spike Lee while speaking with reporters after the game.