Finally back in Eastern Conference finals, Knicks face Pacers team that eliminated them last year

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks nearly ended their lengthy Eastern Conference finals drought last year, only to lose on their home floor to the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the second round.

With two new starters and much better health, the Knicks finally made it this season for the first time in 25 years.

The opponent will be those same Pacers, who return to Madison Square Garden for a series that begins Wednesday night.

“More to go,” Knicks guard Mikal Bridges said. “We’re not done.”

Since their last trip to the conference finals in 2000 — another loss to the Pacers — the Knicks had reached the second round only one time until doing it each of the last two years following the arrival of Jalen Brunson.

So finally getting over that hump with their 119-81 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 on Friday was a significant step, just not one the Knicks cared to celebrate.

“The goal is always to win a championship and so we’ve got eight wins. You need 16, right? And each one gets harder and harder, so you've got to keep fighting,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The Knicks had a 2-0 lead in the series against the Pacers last year before they were decimated with injuries, and Indiana ran them off the floor in Game 7.

New York then traded for Bridges shortly after the season and made a blockbuster move to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota just before the start of this one. It didn't appear those were going to be the final moves that built a championship team, as the Knicks finished 51-31, well behind Cleveland and Boston, and went a combined 0-8 against those teams.

But they won’t have to worry about the Cavaliers, who lost in five games to the Pacers, and completely turned things around against the Celtics. New York overcame 20-point deficits in the second halves of both games in Boston to open the series.

The resolve the Knicks showed in those comebacks wasn't there during the regular-season matchups against the Celtics, when the first three were blowouts. But maybe the Knicks have found it just in time.

“When you’re in these situations, especially in the playoffs, we talk about that New York grit, that unrelentless belief that we will never lose,” Towns said. “And I think that this series, when you want to go deeper into the playoffs, you have to have that and we showed it this series and I think that was really special for us.”

The Knicks were decided underdogs going into the series after the ease with which the Celtics handled them in the regular season. Boston obviously wasn't quite the same team after Jayson Tatum's ruptured Achilles tendon late in Game 4, but the Celtics were still the defending champions and felt they had enough to win even without their leading scorer.

Instead, the Knicks were so dominant in Game 6 that Brunson was asked afterward if their victory in the series felt like an upset.

“Regardless of what anyone thinks, upset or not, we’re just happy to come out of this series with a win and moving on we’ve got to prepare for another team,” he said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard, right, defends New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks' OG Anunoby (8) celebrates after making a three-point shot during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Boston Celtics Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks' Josh Hart (3) gestures after Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7) fouls out during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Boston Celtics Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

LONDON (AP) — The leader of the fast-growing Green Party in England and Wales faced questions about his future on Friday after failing to win a parliamentary seat from the governing Labour Party.

Zack Polanski is fighting a backlash over his party’s anti-Zionist stance and doubts about whether he can continue to be its leader from outside the House of Commons.

Labour candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali won Thursday's special election for the Holborn and St. Pancras seat, which was vacated by former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with 12,292 votes, 45% of the total. Polanski received 8,928 votes, just under 33%.

Abdi-Wali, who came to Britain from Somalia as a child refugee, said she was honored to represent an area that had given her opportunities in life.

“I hope this moment also says something about who gets to belong,” said Abdi-Wali, leader of Camden Council, the local authority. “For people who look like me, I hope they see themselves reflected in this place and know that their path too belongs here.”

Leading a party from outside Parliament poses practical challenges in Britain’s parliamentary system. Polanski was elected Green leader last year on the understanding that he would seek a seat in the Commons and join the party’s five MPs.

The Greens have grown rapidly under the “eco-populist” Polanski, broadening their message beyond environmental concerns to focus on issues including the cost of living, legalization of drugs and support for the Palestinian cause.

The party has positioned itself as an alternative to Labour for left-liberal voters and gained momentum after beating the governing party in a special election last year in one of its northern England strongholds.

But some members believe the party has moved too far from its environmentalist roots. Polanski’s campaign was overshadowed by the Greens' decision earlier this month to declare Zionism, the political movement for a Jewish homeland, a form of racism.

The motion, approved by a vote of members, backed a “single democratic Palestinian state” in the area covered by Israel and the Palestinian territories.

It has divided the party, drawn criticism from most elected Green lawmakers and alarmed many Jewish groups.

Israel called the motion antisemitic and barred Polanski, who is Jewish, from entering the country.

Polanski, who missed the vote because he was campaigning in the special election, said he would not have voted for the motion but agreed with it “in substance.” He described Israel as an apartheid state committing genocide against Palestinians and declined to say, when asked by the BBC, whether he thought Israel had a right to exist.

“I believe Israelis and Palestinians should have equal rights in a democracy,” he said.

Polanski faces a leadership vote next year. He told Sky News on Friday that it was “difficult being leader of any party, particularly the Green Party...but I signed up for that difficult job and I’m more than ready to continue.”

Britain's Labour Party candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali after being declared the winner of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in London, Friday Oct. 9, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Green Party leader Zack Polanski after he was defeated in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in London, Friday Oct. 9, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Britain's Labour Party candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali speaks after being declared the winner of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election in London, Friday Oct. 9, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)