The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are meeting once again in the NBA playoffs, and this time there is a Finals berth on the line. The Pacers lead the Eastern Conference finals, 3-1, after their Game 4 win Tuesday night and find themselves one victory away from winning the East. The Knicks now need three straight wins to keep their season alive. Game 5 is set for Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks are in the East finals for the first time since 2000 after knocking out the reigning champion Boston Celtics in the second round in six games. The Knicks also ousted the Detroit Pistons in six games in the first round, and Jalen Brunson has been phenomenal throughout the playoffs. Brunson is averaging 28.8 points in the 2025 postseason and has been great in the fourth quarter.
The Pacers got here by knocking out both the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. Indiana beat the Knicks in the second round last season to make the Eastern Conference finals, where they got swept by the Celtics.
The Pacers have not been to the NBA Finals since 2000, when they beat the Knicks in the East finals to get there. The Knicks have not been to the NBA Finals since 1999 … and, of course, they beat the Pacers in the East finals to get there.
Below is the complete schedule for the Eastern Conference finals.
Eastern Conference finals schedule
All times Eastern
Game 1: Pacers 138, Knicks 135 (OT)
Game 2: Pacers 114, Knicks 109
Game 3: Pacers 106, Knicks 100
Game 4: Pacers 130, Knicks 121 — Indiana leads 3-1
Game 5: Thursday, May 29 | Pacers vs. Knicks | 8 p.m., TNT/Max
*Game 6: Saturday, May 31 | Knicks vs. Pacers | 8 p.m., TNT/Max
*Game 7: Monday, June 2 | Pacers vs. Knicks | 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Knicks vs. Pacers odds
Odds via FanDuel
- Series odds: Knicks +430, Pacers -590
- Game 5 odds: Knicks -4, O/U 223
Knicks vs. Pacers: Game 5 best bet
Karl-Anthony Towns is currently questionable with a knee injury. Given the stakes of this game, he’s probably going to try to play, but if he can’t do so at 100%, we already saw in Game 2 that Tom Thibodeau is comfortable limiting his minutes. That means we’re looking for an under on an individual stat total. He’s scored too well in this series to justify points, but what about rebounds? Remember, Mitchell Robinson is now starting alongside him, so he’s losing rebounding opportunities to another big man on his own team. If he’s hobbled, it just doesn’t seem likely that he plays enough minutes as a center to reach 12 rebounds. The pick: Towns Under 11.5 Rebounds
