The New York Knicks will host the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Monday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Knicks had to work hard to get past the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Even though the 76ers had notable performances from Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, the Knicks had Jalen Brunson leading the way. The star floor general tied a few marks set by none other than Michael Jordan and LeBron James in the series, becoming the fourth player in NBA history to record 39 or more points in four consecutive playoff appearances, which Michael Jordan last achieved during the 1992-93 season. Brunson averaged 35.5 points, 9.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in the first-round series. His contributions will be pivotal in this series as he matches up with another star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, in a massive showdown.

The Knicks don’t have any fresh injuries for the series opener Monday. Bojan Bogdanovic (foot) and Julius Randle (shoulder) are out for the season.

The Pacers pulled one of the biggest shocks in The Association’s first round of the postseason and sent the Milwaukee Bucks home in six games. Granted, the Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Damian Lillard also missed time. However, the Bucks were still a title contender in the Eastern Conference, so Indiana’s performances can’t be overlooked. The Pacers will rely on their offense to continue pulling upsets, and it’ll be interesting to see how Indiana will approach this series against a hard-nosed Knicks team. Ultimately, Indiana’s chances will come down to three names: Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam. The Pacers’ “big three” will determine whether the team can make a strong playoff push or not.

Tyrese Haliburton (back) is questionable for Game 1 of the series Monday. Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder) is out for the rest of the season.

These two teams met three times during the regular season. The Pacers hold a 2-1 series lead. They went 1-1 when playing at Madison Square Garden.