May 17, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) celebrates a made basket during game six of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Knicks Foils Gleefully Reflect on Tough MSG Atmosphere

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season sits mere hours away, mercifully ending what's been a long summer away from basketball. Whatever comes next will replace our lasting memories of how the most recent playoffs went down, providing players and analysts final chances to reflect on their victorious moments before they're set to return to action and build off of the past.

The New York Knicks now prepare to solidify themselves atop the Eastern Conference, and they don't expect much company from any of those that they're used to battling in the standings.

The Cleveland Cavaliers look ready to return, but the same can't be said of the last two teams that the Knicks squared off against in the playoffs. Both the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers face long roads ahead, each falling victim to timetables to injuries to their respective best players in Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, but those foils have each had plenty to say about the Knicks in recuperating.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown fired a jab at the rowdy New York crowd in his appearance on the Netflix original "Starting 5," airing his frustration in suffering a painful loss, but the Pacers can't be too unhappy about how they fared in their own turn against the Knicks. They looked decisively superior in a six-game win before advancing all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, having dished an iconic comeback to get the conference finals started.

Despite trailing 108-92 in the fourth quarter, the Pacers refused to go away, continually chipping away with nonstop pull-up 3-pointers before forcing overtime after Haliburton found the bottom on an all-time clutch shot. His teammates did consistent damage to set up that prayer, though, and recalled their "conversations" with members of the raucous audience.

“We’re gonna walk your asses down, I don’t know what you all are cheering about," Pacers forward Obi Toppin recounted on the Zach Lowe Show while teammate Aaron Nesmith was raining threes. "I told you," he said to the fan.

Nesmith, who experienced the fourth quarter heat check of his life with 30 points on eight threes, added to the mythos. “There was one fan behind our bench, chirping all game.," he remembered. "When we started hitting all those 3s he got quiet real quick. Doing that in MSG where everybody talks so much, they’re so rude, it’s the greatest feeling in the world to send that crowd home sad like that.”

Indiana Pacers Guard Tyrese Haliburton, Forward Obi Toppin and Guard Aaron Nesmith Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Pacers do, to their credit, have real recent experience eliminating the Knicks, having enjoyed the honor in back-to-back postseasons. It's no surprise that there's no love lost between the fellow eastern contenders and, more importantly, their fans, and the Pacers' regulars will be sure to rub the win in New York's face as long as they can before the records re-set.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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