The tension between the Knicks and Pacers has seemingly not died down following their second-round playoff clash last month.
On Thursday, Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton posted a collection of pics on Instagram while reflecting on his fourth NBA season and his second full season with the Pacers, with whom he landed after a 2022 trade from the Kings.
“End of chapter 4,” he wrote in the caption.
Knicks guard Josh Hart was quick to rain on Haliburton’s parade.
“Started and ended with trash fits,” Hart said in a comment that appears to have been deleted.
The Knicks star was referencing Haliburton’s various photos of pregame sideline outfits throughout the season.
Haliburton was quick to give it right back.
“You became an analyst after you played us,” he chirped back at Hart, who served as a host on ESPN’s NBA Finals coverage.
Hart then responded, “And somehow we both won the same amount of games,” with the tiff seemingly ending there.
The Knicks’ playoff series versus the Pacers started as a tight race before the Knicks fell to the Pacers in a crushing 130-109 Game 7 loss at Madison Square Garden on May 19.
Haliburton, who emerged as New York’s top enemy in the series, averaged 21.3 points and seven assists while shooting 53.8 percent from the field.
He also wasn’t shy around Knicks fans, happily chirping at them in Game 7 after scoring a game-high 16 points in the first half.
The ESPN cameras caught him appearing to yell, “You like that s–t,” to fans while pointing at them.
However, Haliburton’s sore left hamstring slowed him down against the dominant Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Boston now one game away from an NBA title against the Mavericks.
The Knicks and Pacers have a long history of heated moments in their conference rivalry and this season’s playoff run didn’t fall short of expectations between foul calls, injuries and digs at one another.
One incident occurred after a Knicks fan chirped Haliburton, just as Spike Lee got under Reggie Miller’s skin about 30 years earlier, that resulted in the Pacers star wearing a hoodie with a picture of Miller’s famous choke pose after winning Game 7 to end the Knicks’ season.