Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers Pierce Knicks in Game 1 Comeback

The Eastern Conference Finals dream quickly became a nightmare for the New York Knicks.

The Knicks' first national semifinal showing in a quarter-century ended in disaster, as the Indiana Pacers erased an emphatic New York lead with a 138-135 overtime triumph at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

Tyrese Haliburton's late antics could perhaps serve as the defining image of the modern Knicks-Pacers rivalry. The All-Star's deep two as time expired served as one of the loud final touches of Indiana's comeback, one that bounced off the top of the rim before sinking through to force an extra session at 125-all.

Haliburton, who engaged in the chocking gesture that Reggie Miller made famous in his own days as a "Knick killer" after the equalizing shot, then turned the spotlight over to Andrew Nembhard in the extra session, as the veteran scored seven of the Pacers' 13 tallies over the extra five, including the game-winning drive with just over 26 seconds remaining.

Thus wasted in the effort on the home team end was a 43-point showing from Jalen Brunson as well as a 35-point, 12-rebound double-double from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Indiana swiped the early 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven set behind a flurry of threes that erased a Knicks lead that summitted at 17 and still stood at double-figures with as little as 2:16 remaining in regulation.

Having held a consistent lead from the early stages of the second quarter, the Knicks had victory in sight after embarking on a run of 14 consecutive points in the wee portions of the fourth. The construction of such a lead, 106-92 with 7:22 left, was shockingly staged as Brunson was benched with five fouls. Even when Indiana briefly stemmed the bleeding, a Towns three that created the aforementioned largest lead seemed to be enough insurance in a basket-trading ordeal that ensued in the closing stages of regulation.

But once the clock dipped under five minutes, Aaron Nesmith embarked on a one-man show from deep, sinking six three-pointers over the final 4:55 to set up Haliburton's heroics. With the lead trimmed all the way to one, OG Anunoby (who got the Knicks' aforementioned Brunson-less run with five quick points immediately after he was forced to leave) missed the latter of two free throws at the foul line to set the stage for the cursed equalizer.

Down but not out, the Knicks scored the first four points of overtime but a Nembhard triple more or less undid early doubles from Towns and Anunoby. After some early lead exchanges, the Knicks didn't even have a chance to respond to Nembhard's de facto winner, as the Pacers bounced Anunoby's inbounds pass off the hands of Brunson before it went out of bounds, allowing former Knicks lottery savior Obi Toppin to drive home demonstrative dunking insurance.

Knicks Pacers — May 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) in the third quarter during game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Down by three, Brunson and Towns each missed would-be equalizers before a tangle-up whittled the clock down to two tenths, allowing the Pacers to finally exhale.

Haliburton led all Pacers with 31 points while Indiana was a team-best plus-15 on the scoreboard while he was on the floor. Nesmith's late surge, part of an 8-of-9 effort from three-point range, gave him 30 while Toppin and TJ McConnell respectively tallied 10 rebounds and points in relief. Up 1-0 in their second consecutive conference finals showing, the Pacers have not trailed in a series at any points of their ongoing postseason trek.

Redemption potentially awaits the Knicks on Friday night when Game 2 is staged at MSG (8 p.m. ET, TNT). Punching an NBA Finals ticket will require the Knicks to snap another dubious streak: New York has not won a playoff series after losing the opening game since the conference semifinal round in 2000, when they earned a seven-game triumph over the Miami Heat.

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