The Indiana Pacers will be feeling great about themselves after pulling out another win at Madison Square Garden to take a 2-0 lead over the New York Knicks. The Pacers didn't need all of the heroics in Game 2 that they did in Game 1, but they still needed to survive in the final minutes of a 114-109 victory.

Now, Indiana is a massive favorite to win the series and advance to the NBA Finals. Not only did it steal home court from the Knicks, but it got both games in New York and has a chance to finish the series in a sweep if it can protect home court in Games 3 and 4. However, head coach Rick Carlisle isn't buying that it's going to be easy from here on out.

“I'm not focused on that. Last time we played at home, we won but the game before that we lost,” Carlisle said. “There are a lot of traps here. You cannot assume going home is gonna be easier. It never is. Each game as you ascend in a playoff series becomes harder and New York has got an amazing fighting spirit. We're gonna have to keep concentrating on our process, making it hard on them, trying to keep tempo in the game, and the rebounding.”

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The Pacers were in this same position in the last round after beating the top-seeded Cavaliers in Games 1 and 2 in Cleveland. However, the Cavs went into Indiana for Game 3 and got back in the series with a blowout victory before the Pacers steadied themselves in Games 4 and 5.

Carlisle will be looking to avoid a similar fate against the Knicks, who can still be very dangerous in this series if they can get back in to it with a Game 3 win. Jalen Brunson has already proven to be unstoppable with 79 points over the first two games, so Indiana will want to put that fire out as soon as it can.

The Knicks are absolutely going to be very desperate heading into Game 3, so the Pacers will have to match that level of desperation and intensity. If anything, the experience from being in a similar spot in the last round should help them do that.