GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Jalen Brunson held a steel chair. Tyrese Haliburton had brass knuckles.
As the star point guards glared at each other in a WWE wrestling ring last summer in Madison Square Garden, it seemed a fitting next step in the rivalry between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. It's already featured headbutts and chokes, so why not weapons?
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Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, left, celebrates along with forward Pascal Siakam after scoring during the second half in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, rear, is congratulated by guard Miles McBride (2) during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
FILE - Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles during the first half of Game 7 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, May 19, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
FILE - New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the second half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Friday, May 10, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
The teams go at it again starting Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Knicks' first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years, with the winner of their ninth playoff matchup headed to the NBA Finals.
“It’s obviously a storied rivalry between the two franchises, so to add another chapter to it is going to be a lot of fun," Haliburton said.
It sure was for Haliburton and the Pacers last year when the teams met in the second round. Indiana won Game 7 at Madison Square Garden against a Knicks team that was decimated by injuries, shooting an NBA playoff-record 67.1% from the field in a 130-109 romp. Haliburton scored 26 points and afterward wore a sweatshirt to his news conference with a picture of Reggie Miller making a choke signal toward Knicks fan Spike Lee on the sidelines during a playoff game three decades earlier.
Haliburton returned to the Garden to troll New York fans again about a month later, attempting to interfere in a match on behalf of Logan Paul. Brunson, with a seat in the crowd near the ring, intervened and LA Knight pinned Paul.
After the match, Brunson grabbed the chair and entered the ring to protect the winner when it appeared Paul and Haliburton had him surrounded.
“I'll be back! I'll be back!” Haliburton yelled toward fans after exiting the ring.
Well, here he comes.
“It was obviously something that he wanted to do and the way he played last year in the playoffs, I mean, it was fitting,” Brunson said. “And so, he played well in the Garden. Obviously Knicks fans and Pacers fans, they go back and forth. But I think he did a great job with it last year but now we’re moving on.”
A Knicks-Pacers series could be penciled into the spring schedule in the 1990s. The teams met six times in an eight-year span, starting with a 1993 series that included John Starks getting ejected for head-butting Miller. Indiana won the last one in that stretch, a victory in the 2000 East finals the most recent time the Knicks advanced this far.
This time, it's a surprise. Cleveland and Boston ran away to the top two records in the East, but the Knicks ousted the defending champions and the Pacers blew away the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games to set up this matchup between the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.
Things are different now. Brunson and Haliburton are friendly, having been teammates in 2023 on the U.S. team that played in the Basketball World Cup. But Miller will be in the arena, working the games as an analyst for TNT, so there will be a reminder of the way Knicks-Pacers used to be.
“There was definitely a sense of hatred for each other. So I think that makes a good rivalry,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. “They have a history of finding a way to end each other’s season, so it’s up to us now to add our names into history and see what we do.”
The Pacers lead the series 5-3. When the teams have met in the East finals, the Knicks won in 1994 and 1999 — when they reached the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed — and the Pacers won in 2000.
The Knicks went 2-1 against the Pacers, with all the meetings before the All-Star break. Towns had 30.3 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Knicks, who averaged 124 points on 53.9% shooting.
The Pacers were just 10-15 after a loss to Charlotte on Dec. 8. Counting the playoffs, they are 48-19 since.
An NBA Finals matchup between the Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves is a possibility after they made a blockbuster trade on the eve of the preseason. The Knicks acquired Towns by sending Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota. Towns, the Wolves' No. 1 pick in 2015, isn't thinking about that yet.
“We’ve got to get there first,” he said. “I ain’t going to worry about something that we’re not there yet. Step by step.”
AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, left, celebrates along with forward Pascal Siakam after scoring during the second half in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
during the second half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, rear, is congratulated by guard Miles McBride (2) during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
FILE - Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles during the first half of Game 7 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, May 19, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
FILE - New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) during the second half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Friday, May 10, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.
The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.
Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.
Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
