NEW YORK (AP) — Preview capsule on the Indiana-New York Eastern Conference finals series that starts Wednesday:
No. 4 Indiana Pacers (50-32, 8-2) vs. No. 3 New York Knicks (51-31, 8-4)
Season series: Knicks, 2-1.
Schedule: Game 1 at New York on Wednesday, Game 2 at New York on Friday, Game 3 at Indiana on Sunday, Game 4 at Indiana on May 27, Game 5 at New York on May 29 (if necessary), Game 6 at Indiana on May 31 (if necessary), Game 7 at New York on June 2 (if necessary).
How they got here: New York knocked out Detroit in six games in the first round and then ended Boston’s championship reign after one year by beating the Celtics in six in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Pacers needed just five games to eliminate Milwaukee in the first round and top-seeded Cleveland in the second and lead all teams in the postseason in field goal shooting (50.1%), 3-point rate (40.6) and assists per game (29.7).
Storyline: A fierce playoff rivalry from the 1990s is back again and this time is a bit of a surprise, as the Knicks and Pacers finished well behind Cleveland and Boston in the Eastern Conference. This is the ninth matchup between the franchises, with Indiana leading 5-3. That includes the Pacers’ victory in the 2000 Eastern Conference finals, the previous time the Knicks made it this far, and their win last year when they beat the Knicks in seven games in the second round.
Key matchup: Jalen Brunson vs. Tyrese Haliburton — but also Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard and T.J. McConnell. The two point guards are the headline names in the series but Pacers coach Rick Carlisle mentioned all those players as options to defend Brunson, who played for him in Dallas before blossoming into a superstar in New York.
X-factors: As always, it’s health. The Pacers mostly avoided Damian Lillard in the first round and pounced on a wounded Cavs team that dealt with injuries to Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter. The Knicks finished off the Celtics after Jayson Tatum was lost to a ruptured Achilles tendon, and with Kristaps Porzingis a shell of himself the entire series because of a virus. Brunson and OG Anunoby couldn’t finish Game 7 last year because of injuries and Josh Hart struggled through it because of an abdominal strain, after other key Knicks had already been lost. The Pacers are deep and maybe could withstand an injury. The Knicks aren’t and need all their starters to be available.
Prediction: Indiana’s offense might be on too much of a roll to slow down four times. Pacers in 6.
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