Sunday should be an incredible day in the NBA Playoffs. We’re about to get a pair of Game 7s.
The first do-or-die matchup features the New York Knicks hosting the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It will be the first Game 7 at Madison Square Garden since May 21, 1995, when the Knicks also hosted (and lost to) the Pacers.
New York fans are hoping for a better outcome this time around, and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) is predicting they will get it.
The ESPN computer gives the Knicks a 55% chance of winning this afternoon, compared to 45% for the visiting Pacers.
So far, the home team has not lost a game in this series. New York opened up with two close wins at MSG, followed by a narrow Pacers victory in Game 3 back in Indianapolis.
The last three games have all been lopsided, with the Pacers claiming Games 4 and 6 and the Knicks winning Game 5. Whoever wins today will be making their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in a while.
The Pacers haven’t been to the conference finals in 10 years, while the Knicks’ drought goes all the way back to 2000. The Boston Celtics, the No. 1 seed in the East, awaits the survivor of this series.
Knicks-Pacers Game 7 will tip off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The second Game 7 of the day, featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, is set for 8 p.m. ET on TNT.