In a postseason already filled with improbable rallies and last-second heroics, the Indiana Pacers took the chaos to an entirely new level Wednesday night — and left the New York Knicks reeling in disbelief.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals wasn’t just a thriller. It was a history rewrite.
Down by 17 in the fourth quarter, and trailing by 14 with under three minutes to play, the Pacers did what no team in NBA history had managed before — erase that kind of deficit in that little time. The Knicks were part of the 994-0 club when leading by 14 or more with 2:45 to go. Now? 994-1.
The final: Pacers 138, Knicks 135 — in overtime, of course.
When reality bends: A wild ending
The game tilted on a final possession in regulation that could only have come from a basketball fever dream. With 7.3 seconds left and Indiana down two, the ball found Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ star and chaos conductor. He fired from just beyond the arc. It bounced, hung in the air like time froze — then dropped. Madison Square Garden erupted in panic and confusion.
Then, silence. Replay showed Haliburton’s toe brushed the line. It was a two. Tie game. Five more minutes.
In those last 194 seconds of regulation, the Pacers scored 23 points — an all-time record for a closing stretch in a playoff game, per the Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds.
Haliburton channels Reggie, then regrets it
Moments after what he thought was a game-winner, Haliburton channeled Pacers legend Reggie Miller by flashing the infamous “choke” sign — with Miller himself calling the game courtside for TNT.
There was just one problem: the game wasn’t over.
“If I knew it was a two, I wouldn’t have done it,” Haliburton admitted afterward. “Might’ve wasted it.”
Fortunately for him, the Pacers survived a tense overtime, outlasting New York thanks to clutch defense and a controversial challenge that erased the Knicks’ best late-game opportunity. Haliburton finished with 31 points, 11 assists, and 4 rebounds.
Aaron Nesmith goes nuclear
While Haliburton lit the match, Aaron Nesmith supplied the dynamite.
With five minutes left in the fourth, Nesmith had a modest 10 points. By the end of regulation, he had 30 — thanks to an outrageous stretch where he hit six three-pointers in five minutes, a feat no one in NBA playoff history had achieved in a single quarter before.
Without Nesmith’s eruption, the Pacers don’t sniff overtime. He didn’t score in the extra frame, but by then, the damage was done. The Garden crowd was stunned. And the Knicks were staggering.
Earlier in the evening, the Pacers honored Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who had passed away that day at 65. His final tweet? A good-luck message to the Pacers — a strangely poetic sendoff before one of the most miraculous wins in franchise history.
Knicks: Brilliant and broken
For New York, the loss will haunt — especially because they did so much right.
Jalen Brunson (43 points) and Karl-Anthony Towns (35 points, 12 assists) carried the load offensively. For most of the game, New York looked like the more disciplined, dangerous team. But the bookends — the first four and last four minutes of regulation — unraveled their effort.
They allowed Indiana to make its first nine shots of the game and its last nine of the fourth quarter. Even when Brunson sat with foul trouble, the Knicks found rhythm and control. But they blinked when it mattered most.
Game 2 tips Friday at 8 p.m. ET in New York, and it’s already shaping up as a must-win for the Knicks. Not just to even the series — but to prove that a night like Wednesday wasn’t a harbinger of heartbreak to come.
Because if this Pacers team has shown anything, it’s that no lead is safe. And no game is over — until Indiana says it is.