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Knicks vs. Pacers: How & Who to Watch in Regular Season Finale

One more meaningless game stands between the New York Knicks and the NBA Playoffs, as they face the doomed Indiana Pacers on Easter Sunday.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
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At least four Easter eggs await the New York Knicks in the form of NBA Playoff games against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

In the meantime, 48 minutes of regular season basketball linger in the form of their regular season finale on Easter Sunday against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden. 

Though their postseason fate in the Eastern Conference's fifth seed was sealed earlier this week, the Knicks have put up inspired efforts in otherwise meaningless action. That includes a 138-129 win over the Pacers in Indianapolis on Wednesday, a game that saw three New Yorkers (Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, and Obi Toppin) put up at least 30 points, the first occurrence of such an offensive phenomenon since 1979. 

The Pacers have a little something to play for as the seasons, capable of capitalizing on one more loss: depending on what happens elsewhere, Indiana could own the fifth-best odds for the top pick at the NBA Draft Lottery set to be held this postseason. They've certainly pushed fortune their way by sitting star attractions like Myles Turner and All-Star Tyrese Haliburton and have dropped nine of their past 11.

Should they prevail on Sunday, the Knicks would not only tie their season-best at 14 games over .500 but also secure their first four-game season sweep of the Pacers since their NBA Finals run in 1993-94.

What: Indiana Pacers (34-47) @ New York Knicks (47-34)

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

When/Watch: Sunday, 1 p.m, ET, MSG/MSG Go

Who's Favored: NYK -9

Keep An Eye On: Isaiah Hartenstein

There's nothing to play for from a Knicks perspective on Sunday, with the small exception of Hartenstein set to become the first New Yorker to play all 82 games since 2016-17 (Justin Holiday) and the 16th since the turn of the century (joining a list that also includes Allan Houston, Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury, and Latrell Sprewell). 

Hartenstein has been one of the most improved Knicks throughout the season, pulling down 6.7 rebounds a game since the calendar flipped to the new year. He was granted the start on Friday night while Mitchell Robinson had a rest day.

“I just think dependability is such a big part of this league,” Thibodeau said after Friday's game in New Orleans. “You want to be able to depend on people and I think that’s important for the team to grow.”

Pacer to Watch: Bennedict Mathurin

Fully embracing their tanking prospect, the Pacers have declared six players out for Sunday's game. That includes TJ McConnell (who had a double-double off the bench against the Knicks on Wednesday) joining Haliburton and Turner along with Jalen Smith. Like fellow 2020 first-round pick Obi Toppim, Smith was beginning to find a groove after a rocky start in his career and led the Pacers in scoring in the aforementioned Wednesday loss.

The star attraction thus becomes Mathurin once again as he seeks to end his rookie campaign on a high note. Standing in second place among rookies scorers (behind only top choice Paolo Banchero), Mathurin scored 17 points in his last outing against the Knicks but required 17 attempts to make it that far in the nine-point defeat.

Prediction

Honestly, either side would perhaps much prefer just leaving this one alone but the Pacers are perhaps more motivated to lose considering the lottery prospect ahead of them. There's ample opportunity to catch the Knicks, perhaps rightfully, looking ahead though a mere glance at the Indiana injury report strongly implies the Pacers are hardly up for ... or even willing ... for the challenge.

Knicks 114, Pacers 98

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

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