In what's a surprising and rather unforeseen 2025 Indiana Pacers to determine who will compete for a shot at the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Check out Odds Shark's preview for this highly-anticipated showdown, complete with betting odds, matchup histories, and final predictions.
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers Series Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| New York Knicks | -144 |
| Indiana Pacers | +122 |
Odds courtesy of Sportsbook; Accurate as of May 20, 2025
The last few games against the Boston Celtics did come with Jayson Tatum unavailable due to a torn Achilles, and the Cleveland Cavaliers also dealt with their fair share of injuries, but both New York and Indiana were able to overcome the efforts of the top-two seeds in the East and a pairing most had projected seeing at this stage of the bracket to advance to within four wins of a Finals berth. This is the furthest the Knicks have gone in the postseason since 2000 when it conveniently played the Pacers in the conference finals before falling in six games, while Indiana reached this stage a year ago prior to Boston taking it out in a clean sweep just ahead of capturing the title.
More importantly, however, is the fact that Indiana and New York met in the second round of last year's playoffs in a competitive seven-game series which the Pacers ultimately took by winning on the road. O.G. Anunoby only suited up for three appearances, though, and Jalen Brunson ended up breaking his hand in the finale at Madison Square Garden.
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers Series Schedule
| Game | Date | Time | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Wed. May 21 | 8 p.m. ET | Madison Square Garden |
| Game 2 | Fri. May 23 | 8 p.m. ET | Madison Square Garden |
| Game 3 | Sun. May 25 | 8 p.m. ET | Gainbridge Fieldhouse |
| Game 4 | Tue. May 27 | 8 p.m. ET | Gainbridge Fieldhouse |
| Game 5 (if necessary) | Thur. May 29 | 8 p.m. ET | Madison Square Garden |
| Game 6 (if necessary) | Sat. May 31 | 8 p.m. ET | Gainbridge Fieldhouse |
| Game 7 (if necessary) | Mon. June 2 | 8 p.m. ET | Madison Square Garden |
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers Spread/Total Betting History
| Date | Result | ATS Result | Total Points/Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 11, 2025 | 128-115 Knicks (-2) | Knicks Covered | 242 (OVER) |
| November 10, 2024 | 132-121 Pacers (+3) | Pacers Covered | 229.5 (OVER) |
| October 25, 2024 | 123-98 Knicks (-4.5) | Knicks Covered | 229 (UNDER) |
Neither team actually ended up covering the point spread more often than they didn't during the regular season, with Indiana possessing one of the weaker records in that market at 36-43-3 with only five teams finishing worse off. New York was just marginally better at 40-41-1, but it did cover twice across three games versus the Pacers both on the road and at home.
The OVER/UNDER department is a more forgiving sector as just six teams had more UNDERs than OVERs throughout the 2024-25 campaign. Indiana achieved an OVER 53.8-percent of the time and the Knicks were right behind at 51.8 percent.
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New York Knicks Player To Watch: O.G. Anunoby
Toronto Raptors fans getting to witness former players in O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam suit up for other organizations, albeit with a golden opportunity to add another ring to their respective resumes, must be bittersweet. Anunoby could receive more of the vocal from that fanbase if they're indeed invested in this series as he wasn't active through the 2019 championship run due to injury, while Siakam was arguably the second-best player on that squad.
The 27-year-old wing is an Indiana Hoosiers alumnus which is a fun connection here, but while his bread and butter comes as a 3-and-D wing and lockdown defender, shockingly enough, the Knicks have been 13.2 points per 100 possessions better defensively this postseason when Anunoby isn't on the floor. New York is a perfect 6-0 through two rounds when he scores 20 or more points, at least, and while that aforementioned defensive metric obviously isn't inspiring, Anunoby could be the ultimate x-factor against a Pacers team loaded to the brim with perimeter options with tremendous efficiency if he can find a way to impose his will on that end of the floor.
Indiana Pacers Players To Watch: Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard
Connecting back to how Indiana is on an historic pace with its effective field-goal percentage, the two players currently ranking one and two overall in the Association, respectively, in that category are Aaron Nesmith at 65.2 percent and Andrew Nembhard at 60.6 percent. The icing on the cake is that Siakam sits third at 60.1 percent, so that's going to put the Knicks' defense to the test if that keeps up. Both Nesmith and Nembhard have seen noticeable bumps in their offensive output beyond just being insanely efficient, averaging an identical 14.6 points while each converting better than 48 percent from behind the arc.
There was only nine occasions during the regular season when Nembhard scored 17 or more points, but he's already pulled that off in five of his 10 playoff appearances so far. Nesmith could also be seeing a ton of time locked up with Brunson on the defensive end once again with his mobile 6-foot-5 frame, and keeping Brunson relatively in check would suck the life out of New York's offensive game plan.
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers Series Prediction: Knicks To Win Series In Seven (+360)
This one is a head-scratcher as far as picking a side to prevail, with the lone detail which feels just right being that this series will go the distance just like it did last year. The Knicks' depth chart has obviously undergone some massive changes since the last time these teams squared off under these circumstances, but a majority of the roster which felt the agony of that Game 7 defeat at Madison Square Garden is still around and will undoubtedly be out for redemption to avoid similar failures.
The Pacers haven't given bettors much of a reason to pick against them, though. They're 8-2 so far, haven't lost more than a game in each of the first two rounds, and could make history with an effective field-goal percentage of 58.3 percent which is on pace to be the strongest playoff number in league history. Only the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Oklahoma City Thunder finished with a bettor winning percentage from Jan. 1 onward, as well, so the fact that Indiana has reached the conference finals in consecutive seasons shouldn't be all that surprising.
Only Tyrese Haliburton is playing more than 33 minutes per game, and head coach Rick Carlisle is going deep into his bench with eight players contributing better than 8.5 points and 11 players having seen the floor for at least 96 total minutes. That's the polar opposite approach for New York's coach Tom Thibodeau, who is notorious for running his starters heavy minutes and barely rolling with his second unit, essentially limiting it to Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, and the occasional burst from Cameron Payne.
Having four days off between rounds will benefit the Knicks immensely, even though the Pacers will have had more than a week off to recover having not played since May 13. Health is such a crucial component here, as New York was banged up and broken down in 2024, yet still took Indiana to the limit before crashing out in Game 7. The added incentive of not wanting to repeat history of course helps, and the Knicks' shorter rotation could actually benefit them here if the Pacers' backups are going to continue being a focal point. A home-court advantage didn't do them much good the last go around, but it could make all of the difference in the world for a series finale with New York still trying to end its 51-year championship drought.
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Nick's New york Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Expert Prediction: Pacers to Win Series (+122), OVER 5.5 Total Games (-188)
The Knickerbockers are rightly favored in their first Eastern Conference Final in 25 years, but the Pacers are no push over.
Indiana boasts eight rotation players averaging between 8 and 19 points in the playoffs. Rick Carlisle's squad has bucket getters throughout the roster, and Tyrese Haliburton's playmaking makes their offense nightmare to stop.
On top of that, guard Andrew Nembhard is the ultimate playoff X-factor. Nembhard's scored 14.8 points on an uncanny 49% shooting from three in 27 career postseason games. The Canadian is the ultimate "playoff riser". He can knock down big shots, defend like a demon, and make plays for others with the ball in his hands. Nembhard's playmaking efficiency takes the pressure off of Haliburton and makes the Pacers offense a nightmare to defend.
Additionally, the Pacers are shooting the lights out from three this postseason, knocking down over 40% of shots from deep. All three of Aaron Nesmith, Haliburton and Nembhard are knocking down over two triples per game.
Indiana is fast and physical, they boast far more depth than New York, and can make it rain from three-point land. I like the Pacers to win this series in six games, with Reggie Miller and Spike Lee going at it once again.
