The Indiana Pacers are embracing everything about advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
Indiana defeated the New York Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference finals, capping it off with a 125-108 win in Game 6 on Saturday night. Indiana will take on NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, which begin Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
The Pacers’ win was one for the books, with seven players scoring in double figures, led by Pascal Siakam, who scored 31 points and was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Tyrese Haliburton had a dominant second half and finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Haliburton is the third player to record over 60 assists and 10 or fewer turnovers in a series, joining Chris Paul and Tim Hardaway, according to ESPN Research. He is the first player to achieve the feat in the conference finals.
Indiana’s road to the Finals wasn’t easy — on and off the court.
So once the Pacers had the Eastern Conference title in the bag, their social media team — and Haliburton — didn’t hold back on the Knicks and their shared history, landing a handful of worthy social media jabs.
Pacers packed up New York
The Pacers have a storied history of defeating the Knicks in the playoffs in the 21st century. They accomplished the feat in 2000, 2013, 2024, and now 2025.
To showcase their dominance over New York in the playoffs, the Pacers dropped a graphic highlighting their series wins over the Knicks with the Empire State Building and the 73-story One Vanderbilt tower behind Indiana’s starting five.
so long, New York.
we’ll be taking our duffel bags to the NBA Finals 😏 pic.twitter.com/v76x8kdpJC
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 1, 2025
The ‘Big Apple’
The Pacers also sent a post featuring the sports pages of various newspapers from each game in which they defeated the Knicks, while also taking a shot at New York’s nickname, “the Big Apple.”
start spreading the news 📰 pic.twitter.com/yMcsuun39T
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 1, 2025
Haliburton is the new Miller
In Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, Pacers guard Reggie Miller made the infamous choking gesture toward director and Knicks fan Spike Lee at Madison Square Garden. Twenty-five years later, Haliburton recreated the gesture in Game 1 after completing a comeback in which the Pacers trailed by more than 14 points with 2:51 remaining in regulation. The Pacers’ social media team was quick to take note.
Haliburton goes at Ben Stiller
Actor Ben Stiller is known for his courtside Knicks appearances and for supporting the Knicks on social media. In Haliburton’s arrival to Game 6, he wore an all-black outfit with a black duffle bag. Stiller responded to the post pregame, saying: “Good thing he brought his duffle for the flight to NY.”
Haliburton’s response after the game?
“Nah, was to pack y’all up,” referring to the Knicks.
Nah, was to pack y’all up https://t.co/hhgo9fp8ib
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) June 1, 2025
Haliburton vs. New York
Knicks fans were relentless with their antics during the playoffs — even throwing garbage bags at a Pacers fan and heckling him for wearing a Haliburton jersey on the streets of New York in the hours after the Knicks knocked off the Celtics in Game 6 of the East semifinals.
Haliburton actually invited the accosted fan to attend Game 4 in Indianapolis. He also kept the receipts and topped off a reel with his highlights from the series.
‘cers in 6 pic.twitter.com/cCjASm1qNF
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) June 1, 2025
