They met in the playoffs 6 times from 1993 to 2000, fueling a rivalry epitomized by the enmity between Pacer Reggie Miller and prominent Knick fan Spike Lee.

The Knicks, led by Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, John Starks, Doc Rivers, and Coach of the Year Pat Riley had amassed a 60–22 record-the best in the East-and earned the top seed in the East.

[5] The Pacers, with Miller, Rik Smits, Detlef Schrempf, and Dale Davis barely squeaked into the playoffs with a 41–41 record, thanks to the tiebreaker over the Magic.

Brown traded Schrempf for Derrick McKey and added rookie forward Antonio Davis, veteran Byron Scott, and journeyman point guard Haywoode Workman.

Despite winning the Atlantic Division, they lost the top seed in the East to Atlanta; both teams finished 57–25 and split the season series 2–2, but the Hawks won the tiebreaker.

After Indiana took a 3–2 series lead with the victory, the New York Daily News ran a cover story with Lee's picture and the sarcastic headline, "Thanks A Lot, Spike".

Smits enjoyed his best NBA season, averaged career highs of 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds, Miller continued to lead the team with 19.6 points per game with a .415 3-point percentage (15th in the league) and a .897 free throw percentage (4th in the league) and was a starter in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game and member of the All-NBA Third Team.

Winning the first division title and achieving its first 50-win season since joining the NBA from the ABA with a record of 52–30, the second-seed Pacers swept the Hawks in the first round.

The 8th-seeded Knicks were able to knock off 1st seeded Miami for the 2nd year in a row after Allan Houston made the game-winning shot in Game 5 that bounced off the front rim, off the backboard, and in with 0.8 seconds left.

But the Knicks played inspired in Game 5, and won 101–94 at Market Square Arena despite a 30-point performance from Miller, to take a 3–2 lead with a chance to clinch in New York.

With their victory, the Knicks became the first eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals before falling short against the San Antonio Spurs in 5 games.

[11] The Pacers would eventually lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games led by superstars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

In Game 6, the Pacers went on an 11–3 run late to take the lead for good and win 106–99 to eliminate New York and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the eventual NBA champions Miami Heat in 7.

Coming into this series, all-star Julius Randle of the Knicks and Rising Stars MVP Bennedict Mathurin of the Pacers both missed the entirety of the 2024 NBA Playoffs due to season-ending injuries during the regular season.

In 1994, the Pacers addressed their need for a point guard by acquiring former Knick Mark Jackson from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Pooh Richardson, Malik Sealy, and the draft rights to Eric Piatkowski.

Jackson was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the 1996–97 NBA season started in exchange for rising star Jalen Rose.

Jackson would eventually appear in his only NBA Finals as the Pacers' starting point guard in 2000, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

In 2005, the Chicago Bulls traded former key Pacer player Antonio Davis along with Eddy Curry to the Knicks for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas and Jermaine Jackson.

The motivation behind this trade was apparently to free up cap space (Rose earned close to $16 million a year) and to allow the Raptors to acquire an experienced center who could relieve some of Chris Bosh's rebounding duties.

[16] Rose would leave the Knicks months later to join the Phoenix Suns in pursuit of an NBA Championship during their 2006–07 season before retiring the year after.

In 2007, the Knicks acquired former Pacer Fred Jones, along with Zach Randolph and Dan Dickau from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Channing Frye and Steve Francis.

The trade reunited Jones with Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas, the man who selected him in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Pacers.

[19] Following their 2013 series, promising Knicks rookie, Chris Copeland, received a two-year, $6.1 million offer sheet from the Pacers.

[21][22] Copeland's production dropped off dramatically with the Pacers in 2013–14 as he averaged just 3.7 points and 6.5 minutes in 41 games, playing behind Paul George, Danny Granger and Evan Turner as Indiana lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat "Big Three" (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh).

[26] The same offseason, with the Knicks looking to rebuild, the team traded away star Carmelo Anthony in exchange for Doug McDermott, Enes Kanter and a 2018 second-round pick.

In 2024, McDermott would return to the Pacers in a trade surrounding Buddy Hield, helping them reach the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.

In 2019, the Knicks traded away star Kristaps Porziņģis alongside Trey Burke, Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, an unprotected 2021 first-round draft pick, and an additional top-ten protected 2023 first round draft pick.

Matthews served as a starter for Indiana in all 23 games, averaging 10.9 points on 36.9% three-point shooting, helping the team reach the 2019 playoffs in the absence of Victor Oladipo due to injury.

[30] In the 2024 NBA Finals, their older brother Jrue Holiday won his second championship alongside former Knick, Porziņģis on the Boston Celtics.

[31] On the Pacers, Toppin joined Jalen Smith, Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, Jordan Nwora, and later James Wiseman, all selected in the 2020 NBA draft.