All eyes were on the Indiana Pacers in their stirring late-game comeback and eventual overtime victory versus the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Pacers’ 138-135 win at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night drew a 3.5 rating and 6.6 million viewers on TNT, making it the most-watched Eastern Conference finals opener since 2018. If you’re scoring at home, that was LeBron James’ last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers when they faced the Boston Celtics.
Wednesday’s game also serves as the second most-watched contest of the 2025 playoffs, save for only Game 7 of the Western Conference first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.
Indiana rallied from a 14-point deficit with 2:39 remaining in the fourth quarter and appeared to win the game following a friendly carom off the rim on Tyrese Haliburton’s apparent 3-pointer at the buzzer. Replays, however, showed that his toe was on the line, thus making it a 2-pointer and forced overtime.
When he thought the game was over, Haliburton made the choke sign in the direction of the Knicks’ bench.
That type of theatre presented a peak in the ratings, as it drew 8.5 million viewers at 11 p.m. ET.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night in New York.
Pacers-Knicks series opener draws massive ratings
May 23, 2025 | 8:53 PM