The Indiana Pacers were once dubbed as a team nobody wanted to watch. Many fans believed that a small-market team couldn’t lead the NBA in TV ratings.
This narrative has died after their Game 3 against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers have been on a tear recently and it’s largely thanks to the play of guard Tyrese Haliburton. He’s hit huge clutch shots and made history with an incredible triple-double stat line.
Haliburton has made the Pacers an exciting team to watch. This is similar to how Reggie Miller put Indiana on the map during the 1990s. As for Haliburton and his Pacers today, fans apparently can’t get enough.
The third game between the Pacers and Knicks was the most watched Game 3 of an Eastern Conference Finals since 2015.
Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Pacers averaged 7.09 million viewers on TNT/TRU, making it the most-watched ECF Game 3 since Cavs-Hawks in 2015, which drew 7.76 million viewers, per @TomerAzarly
(h/t @ClutchPoints ) pic.twitter.com/GJW38URyfP
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 28, 2025
This is an incredible achievement, especially considering the series in 2015 featured LeBron James. If the Pacers keep up their hot play and reach the NBA Finals, viewership should remain high.
The Indiana Pacers are the real deal. They are must-watch TV, and the NBA couldn’t be happier.
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