No. 2 INDIANA vs. No. 8 NEW YORK

Season series: Pacers, 2-1.

* Outlook: The Knicks are on a storybook run, having become a more exciting team than they were during the season, with injuries de-emphasizing Patrick Ewing, and Latrell Sprewell averaging 19 points off the bench and shooting 45%--compared to 16.4 and 41% during the season. In the sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, Sprewell and Allan Houston averaged a combined 40.5. The Pacers are a big, deep, veteran team that’s 7-0 in the playoffs after sweeping the Bucks and 76ers. Reggie Miller averaged 18.4 points during the season and is at 23.7 in the playoffs. He also has a history of torturing the Knicks, going back to his 25-point fourth quarter in their 1994 series when he first gave Spike Lee the choke sign.

* Prediction: Unless Sprewell and Houston choke off Miller, it’ll be the Pacers in six.