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.

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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) — Thousands of homes and businesses across northern France and southern England were without power Friday morning and residents faced widespread travel delays after a storm swept in off the Atlantic, bringing high winds, rain and snow to the region.

The low-pressure system, named Storm Goretti, pummeled the Isles of Scilly overnight with wind gusts up to 99 mph (159 kph) recorded in the archipelago off the southwestern tip of England. Local government officials reported blocked roads, unstable buildings and power outages that left some people without water.

More than 57,000 were without power across southwestern England, the Midlands and Wales, according to National Grid, which runs the country’s electricity transmission network.

As the storm moved across the United Kingdom it collided with an existing mass of Arctic air, bringing snow to northern areas and heavy rain to the south.

That extended the misery in northern Scotland, where snowplows have been working overtime to keep roads open after more than half a meter (20 inches) of snow fell earlier in the week. More than 250 schools across Scotland were closed on Friday, with some remaining shut for a fifth straight day.

National Rail warned people across the U.K. to check before traveling because the storm had disrupted services across England, Scotland and Wales. Birmingham Airport, which closed briefly due to snow, said had reopened with “reduced runway operations.”

The disruptions came after the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service, issued a rare red weather warning — its highest — in southwestern England for Thursday evening.

Red warnings are issued when the forecaster considers it “very likely” there will be life-threatening conditions.

Strong winds from Storm Goretti also battered northwestern France on Friday, knocking out power to about 380,000 homes, authorities said. No major damage was reported Friday morning.

Most of the outages were concentrated in the Normandy region, according to Enedis, the national power grid operator.

France’s national weather service, Météo-France, had issued weather warnings ahead of the storm, urging residents to remain home. An overnight wind gust of up to 213 kph (132 mph) was recorded in Gatteville-le-Phare in Normandy.

Regional train services were suspended across northwestern France, with disruptions expected to last at least until Friday afternoon. High-speed rail services were operating, and authorities said they anticipated minimal impact on flights at Paris airports.

People cross the medieval Charles Bridge during a heavy snowfall in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A man clears snow from a walking path during a heavy snowfall in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Vehicles covered in snow are parked in Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, as Storm Goretti continues in the UK. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)