Knicks face Pacers for Game 2 of Eastern Conference finals. Here's what to know about the watch parties.
The New York Knicks take on the Indiana Pacers on Friday night for Game 2 of the NBA's Eastern Conference finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Official watch parties will be held at the SummerStage area inside Central Park, as well as outside the Oculus station in Lower Manhattan. The watch party for Game 1 was held at Radio City Music Hall.
Knicks vs. Pacers Eastern Conference finals schedule
- Game 1 at New York on Wednesday - Indiana won in overtime
- 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)
Pacers lead series 1-0 after overtime win
The Pacers visit the Knicks with a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. The Pacers won the last meeting 138-135 in overtime, led by 31 points from Tyrese Haliburton. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 43.
Game 2 is Friday night, when Brunson and the Knicks will have to show they can come back from the type of devastating defeat that Milwaukee and Cleveland couldn't in the previous two rounds.
New York led by 14 points with 2:45 remaining in regulation Wednesday. The Pacers rallied to tie it on Haliburton's long 2-pointer that bounced high off the back of the rim and fell in as time expired -- a shot he initially thought was a winning 3-pointer when he ran toward the crowd and emulated the choke signal that Reggie Miller flashed to Spike Lee three decades earlier during an Indiana playoff victory.
The Pacers scored 23 points in the final 3:14. No team, at least in the play-by-play era that goes back to 1997, had scored that many in the final 3:14 of regulation of a playoff game.
And the Pacers would go on to win in overtime, outscoring the Knicks 13-10 in the extra session to prevail.
Brunson ties Ewing for Knicks playoff record
Brunson had just tied Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing's franchise record by reaching 30 points in the playoffs for the 18th time with the Knicks. Then, the Knicks hit the Pacers with a 14-0 run when Brunson had to go to the bench early in the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul, opening a 108-92 lead.
"In the playoffs, when you win, it's the best thing ever. When you lose, it's the worst thing ever," Brunson said after the game. "The best way to deal with all that is to stay level-headed and making sure we have each other's backs."
Brunson finished with 43 points, and his 3-pointer made it 119-105 with 2:51 to go.
He's in his third season with the Knicks and led them to the conference finals for the first time since 2000, which was Ewing's final season with the team.
