Knicks blow 14-point lead with 3 minutes left in regulation, lose in OT to Pacers in Game 1 of Eastern Conference finals
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Tyrese Haliburton tied the game with a long jumper that bounced high off the back of the rim and in as time expired in regulation, then the Indiana Pacers went on to finish off their stunning rally by beating the New York Knicks 138-135 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks led by 14 points with under three minutes remaining in regulation, but Aaron Nesmith brought the Pacers back with a flurry of late 3-pointers.
Haliburton then hoped he had won it with another. With the Pacers down two and time running down, he started to lose control of his dribble, regained it and dribbled back out toward the 3-point line. He fired up his jumper and when it finally fell in, he raced toward the sideline and made a choke signal to the crowd, like Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller did to Spike Lee while leading a Pacers comeback in a playoff game in 1994.
Replay confirmed that Haliburton's toe was on the line and it was a 2-pointer that tied it at 125. Andrew Nembhard eventually made the go-ahead basket with 26 seconds remaining in OT.
Game 2 is Friday night.
Haliburton had 31 points and 11 assists. Nesmith finished with 30 points, going 8 for 9 from 3-point range.
It was a thrilling start to the ninth playoff matchup between these fierce rivals from the 1990s — but a deflating finish for the Knicks in their first Eastern Conference finals game since 2000.
Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 12 rebounds. But the Knicks couldn't protect the big lead they built while Brunson was on the bench in foul trouble in the fourth quarter and had a collapse unlike any other in the postseason.
Teams leading by at least 14 points in the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter had been 994-0 since play-by-play began being kept in 1997-98.
The Pacers beat the Knicks in Game 7 of the East semifinals at Madison Square Garden last year, routing a team that had been decimated by injuries.
This was an entirely different way to win, with the Pacers looking all but out of the game after the Knicks' 14-0 run with Brunson on the bench pushed New York's two-point lead to 108-92.
Even after Nesmith started to get hot, the Knicks seemed safe when Brunson's 3-pointer made it 119-105 with 2:51 to go. But Nesmith would later hit consecutive 3s and both free throws when the Knicks fouled him intentionally so he couldn't try to tie it with another, giving Indiana the chance to tie on Haliburton's shot.
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Chicagoans of my age hate all New York sports teams. Well maybe not hate, depraved indifference might cover it.
If I am correct 3 of the 4 teams left in the NBA playoffs have never won the title, and the fourth, the Knicks, havent won in over 50 years. Whats worse, never winning or not winning in 50 years?
Since a lot of national media comes out of New York we have to endure morning talk show hosts on the networks openly rooting for the Knicks. I saw a segment the other day where Good Morning America was previewing this series and the Indiana Pacers were barely mentioned, it was about the Knicks , because they are the hometown team.
On a sports related note, Denver has the worst team in baseball, having lost another four straight, they now stand at 8-41 for the season so far.