The New York Knicks pulled off a major accomplishment as they defeated the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in their six-game second-round series. After losing four regular-season games to the Celtics, the Knicks used their ability to make clutch plays in the fourth quarter and play relentless defense to survive and advance.

The Knicks and their fans celebrated the victory, but now it's on to the business at hand of playing in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks have home-court advantage in the series that will begin May 21 at Madison Square Garden. They will be fighting to advance to the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder or Minnesota Timberwolves and they will also be looking for revenge against the Pacers.

The Knicks saw their 2023-24 season come to an end when they lost their second-round series to the Pacers. In many ways, that loss was a shocker for Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks. They earned a 3-2 lead in the series when they secured a 121-91 triumph in Game 5, but the Pacers rebounded with back-to-back victories in Games 6 and 7. Indiana's 130-109 win in the series finale at Madison Square Garden was a devastating defeat for the home team.

The Knicks would like to take their revenge against the Pacers.

The Knicks are a solid team and they showed that team play was a key reason they were able to get the best of the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs.

However, when it comes to the final moments of a close game, the Knicks have perhaps the best weapon in the NBA in Jalen Brunson. The 6-2 guard in his seventh NBA season and third with the Knicks has shown he can dominate in any game.

He averaged 26.0 points per game in the regular season while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from beyond the arc. More than the numbers, Brunson has shown that he knows how to get away from the best defenders in the league and get free when he attempts game-changing shots.

Brunson joined Kobe Bryant (2008) and Steph Curry (2023) as the only players to score 75-plus fourth quarter points through the Knicks first seven postseason games.

He is extremely dangerous when the game is on the line.

The Knicks are able to share the basketball and put together scoring runs because they can depend on Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikail Bridges to work with Brunson.

Team play will be one of the big keys in their series with the Pacers, but the power of Towns could turn out to be the most significant difference.

Towns came to the Knicks in the offseason in a complex three-team trade. The former Minnesota Timberwolves star showed that he could dominate in a decisive manner when the punished the Celtics in the final game of their six-game series.

Towns has shown that he can take over a game when he is determined, but he can also shrink from the moment if he does not get off to a good start.

The 7-foot center is in his 10th year in the NBA and his first with the Knicks. He averaged 24.4 points per game during the regular season while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and averaging 12.8 rebounds per game.

The Knicks head coach has made his reputation in the NBA because of his defensive know-how.

The 67-year-old Thibodeau is in his fifth season as the Knicks' head coach. He also led the Chicago Bulls for five years and the Minnesota Timberwolves for three season.

The Knicks have improved their record in each of the last three seasons, and they are playing their best basketball of the season right now.

The Knicks allowed an average of 105.9 points per game and that ranked fifth in the league. Their opponents shot just 43.6 percent from the field, and that also ranked fifth in the league. The Knicks averaged 6.1 blocks per game and that ranked third in the league.

The Knicks' relentless defense will prove decisive in this series.