INDIANAPOLIS — For weeks, the word “special” has been tossed around to describe these Knicks. 

We heard it when they rallied from 20 points down to stun the Celtics in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It was used again when they surged from 14 points down in that pivotal Game 4 and later when they completed the upset of the defending champions. 

Now, finding themselves in a 2-0 hole in their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 25 years after two losses at the Garden, they can really earn that description.

Rally from this deficit.

Do to the Pacers in Indianapolis what they did to the Pistons in Detroit and the Celtics in Boston. 

Jalen Brunson reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during the Knicks’ Game 2 loss to the Pacers on May 23, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg

Otherwise, Tom Thibodeau’s team will join so many other failures in this franchise’s frustrating postseason history, right up there with the 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997 teams that are remembered for falling painfully short. 

“I’ve said this so many times that I have the utmost confidence and trust in my teammates,” Jalen Brunson said. “We’ve been in positions where we’ve been counted out and found a way to win. Just one step at a time.”

It was supposed to be the Knicks’ year in 1993.

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They were the No. 1 seed after winning 60 games.

They took the first two games from Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the conference finals, but did not win again.

Everybody remembers that year because of Charles Smith’s inability to finish inside in the final seconds of Game 5. 

Charles Smith is pictured during a Knicks playoff game

against the Bulls in June 1993. AP

A year later, they blew a 3-2 series lead in the NBA Finals to the Rockets.

John Starks infamously went 2-for-18 in Game 7.

Reggie Miller turned the 1995 conference semifinal series on its head, scoring eight points in 8.9 seconds to steal Game 1 at the Garden.

Patrick Ewing’s finger roll at the horn of Game 7 ended the Pat Riley era.

The Knicks coach left for the Heat that offseason. 

John Starks reacts during the Knicks’ Game 7 loss to the

Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals. NBAE via Getty Images

Then there was 1997, the leaving-the-bench game against the Heat in Game 5 of the conference semifinals.

Starks, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Charlie Ward and Allan Houston were all suspended one game apiece.

The Knicks ended up blowing a 3-1 series lead. 

Now there is 2025, the Knicks blowing that 14-point lead with 2:39 left in Game 1, unable to recover in overtime.

The Knicks react during their Game 2 loss to the Pacers on May 23. Charles Wenzelberg

Who knows how Game 2 goes had the Knicks closed out Game 1?

Worst-case scenario, the series is even. 

Instead, they are down 2-0, needing to win Game 3.

Needing to fix their issues in fast order.

Does Thibodeau shake up a starting lineup that has been outscored by 81 points in the playoffs, and that has been digging holes repeatedly?

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Can Josh Hart, ineffective so far in this series, begin to make his usual impact?

How will Karl-Anthony Towns respond after his fourth-quarter benching? 

The odds are long.

Only five teams in NBA playoff history have advanced after dropping the first two games at home.

It has never happened in the conference finals. 

“We are not here to repeat history. We are here to make it,” Towns said. “If I learned anything, especially last year, as quick as you can win two games is as quick as you can lose two games. Just have to bank on my experience and execute at a higher level.”

One positive the Knicks will surely cling to is their road success.

They went 24-17 away from the Garden during the regular season and are 5-1 in the playoffs.

They closed out the Pistons on the road and won twice at TD Garden in the Celtics series.

The Pacers, however, are 5-1 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 

“That’s a tough place to play,” Hart said. “Their crowd comes and shows love and support. But we’re a good road team. That always gives us confidence.”