New York Knicks: Revisiting Rivalry With Indiana Pacers

1998: Pacers def. Knicks, 4-1

This was the anomaly of the rivalry between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. Perhaps it was revenge for 1993, as the Pacers defeated the Knicks in just five games during the 1998 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

With Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson both missing a game, the Knicks were unable to recover from the absence of their leaders.

Ewing and Johnson missed Game 1, and the Knicks paid the price with a 93-83 road loss behind 18 points from both Travis Best and Jalen Rose. Game 2 was no better, as Rik Smits and Reggie Miller continued their high-quality play against the Knicks.

Ewing led the Knicks to a win in Game 3, which saved New York from the potential embarrassment of being swept by a rival.

New York nearly won Game 4 behind the efforts of Ewing, Allan Houston, Johnson, and John Starks, but fell 118-107 in overtime. Houston did his best to save the Knicks with 33 points in Game 7, but Mark Jackson pummeled his former team with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists.

It was a bitter ending to an underwhelming series, but it may have also been the motivation for the Knicks’ historic run in 1999.