Underestimate them at your own risk: The Pacers are back in the Eastern Conference finals, finishing off the Cavaliers with a 114-105 Game 5 win. Indiana is the only team to make the conference finals as a No. 4 seed or worse in consecutive years since the 1984 playoffs expansion.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 21 and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 114-105 victory over Cleveland, eliminating the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games.

The Knicks are on the verge of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. The Knicks won Game 4 by a score of 121-113, with the ending marred by Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum rupturing his Achilles in a scary scene.

Recent days have emphasized how wobbly things are in the NBA's Eastern Conference. But with big-picture thoughts comes potential change.

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will attempt to continue the trend of the home team holding serve and take the series lead in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN).

The Philadelphia 76ers saw a less-than-satisfactory end to their regular season. With many concerns arising, the 76ers have a lot of work to do before ensuring they become a perennial powerhouse in the Eastern Conference again.

"If the 2024-25 season had gone poorly, the Knicks would have had strong interest in dealing for Antetokounmpo, Begley notes. The Knick focus at the moment is far from Antetokounmpo; they host Boston in Game 4 of their second-round playoff series and hold a 2-1 series lead," he wrote.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the top seeds in the playoffs and owners of the best regular-season records in the NBA, find themselves in dire need of wins as they host Game 5s in the conference semifinals on Tuesday night.