Jalen Brunson's late heroics deny Pacers' Carlisle his 1,000th win

The New York Knicks trailed most of the night in Indiana, but went ahead with 4.4 seconds left to avoid an upset.

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was denied his 1,000 career regular-season win when the New York Knicks rallied from a pair of 16-point deficits, pulling ahead on a Jalen Brunson 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

1. Unfortunate slip costs Pacers a fairy tale ending vs. Knicks

Dec 18, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots the winning shot while Indiana Pacers guard/forward Andrew Nembhard (2) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Rick Carlisle was denied his 1,000th regular-season win of his coaching career, falling just short of pulling off an upset of the New York Knicks, falling 114-113.

The 66-year-old Carlisle has nearly a quarter-century of experience and had an opportunity to win a game by designing a play to get his go-to guy one last look with 4.4 remaining. 

Pascal Siakam, who was brilliant most of the fourth quarter, slipped as he attempted to get to center Jay Huff’s inbounds pass, allowing OG Anunoby to come up with a game-saving steal. Siakam managed to block his shot at the other end, but by the time the loose ball was retrieved, the final buzzer was going off.

Carlisle is now 0-3 in looking to become the 11th head coach in NBA history to post 1,000 regular-season wins. For most of Thursday night, it looked like the clincher was going to come against one of the Pacers’ most hated rivals and the franchise Carlisle spent his last full season with as a player back in 1987-88.

It looked like he was going to get the better of Mike Brown, who served as an associate head coach under Carlisle in Indiana from 2003-05 before starting his own head coaching journey that has now spanned decades by taking over the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.

The storylines were everywhere and it looked like a fairy tale ending was inevitable until Jalen Brunson connected on a late 3-pointer to rescue shorthanded New York, which elected to rest centers Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson in addition to versatile wing Josh Hart.

In a clutch game that was tied at 111 inside the final two minutes and featured multiple empty possessions from both teams, Carlisle was unable to get involved by calling a timeout since he was down to only one and had to save it for any late game situations. He had to blindly trust his own depleted group to execute at both ends of the floor. It’s a testament to their grit and his coaching that they got stops and scrapped. 

When Carlisle finally did get his guys back to the huddle up 113-111 with 16.9 left, he called for an intentional foul of Brunson since the Pacers had one to give, and then got to employ one final bit of strategy after New York’s Mike Brown used his final timeout to draw up another play. 

Unfortunately for the Pacers, Brunson successfully got isolated against Andrew Nembhard and connected on a clutch 3-pointer to erase the deficit for good. Carlisle’s next crack at win No. 1,000 will come in New Orleans on Saturday night.

2. Siakam, Nembhard look capable of leading Indiana resurgence

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard and forward Pascal Siakam gave their team an opportunity to knock off the New York Knicks with some clutch second-half shooting. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Despite the bitter ending, there’s plenty of positives to draw from, starting with Siakam’s ability to put a floundering offense on his back in the fourth quarter. Currently ranking in the top 20 in the NBA in scoring (23.8 ppg), Siakam matched a season-low with 11 points in Sunday’s loss to the Wizards and was languishing through another rough night, missing his first five shots and managing just two points despite the Pacers surging out to a 28-12 lead.

After the Knicks went on a 27-8 run in the second half after falling behind 16 points again, Siakam went to work to help Indiana overcome a 1-for-9 start to the fourth quarter. He drained a difficult jumper out of a timeout, drilled a pull-up 3 and then another short jumper, and got everywhere he wanted against talented defenders that included Anunoby, once his young protege when the duo won the 2019 championship in Toronto.

After missing 11 of his first 16 shots, Siakam finished 9-for-22 and connected on a pair of free throws with 16.9 left that put Indiana ahead prior to Brunson’s heroics.

Nembhard was the driving force most of the night, finishing one point shy of a season-high with 31 points on 12-for-19 shooting. Ideally, he’s going to be more of a distributor than scorer as the Pacers’ engine with Tyrese Haliburton out, but he’s in a rhythm and proving he can be a difference-maker every time he takes the floor. 

If Siakam and Nembhard aggressively get themselves going and produce, Indiana is going to get back on track and be ready to make major strides once Aaron Nesmith returns.

3. Jackson returns to action, looks like positive x-factor

Dec 18, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Quenton Jackson (29) shoots the ball while New York Knicks forward/guard Og Anunoby (8) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Although Ethan Thompson was expected to start as he has since being called up from the G League, Quenton Jackson worked with the starters on Wednesday and got the nod in the first five in his second game back from a right hamstring strain.

The Texas A&M product who has gotten in here and there over the course of four seasons with the Wizards and Pacers had a 25-point, 10-assist game in a win over Golden State on Nov. 1 before going down with an injury two nights later. 

Now that he’s fully healed, Carlisle has another gamer to work with who should be able to help Indiana dig itself out of this massive hole. Jackson forced a turnover from Jalen Brunson with 1:06 left, dove to the floor to get a loose ball on the next possession and ended up with 10 points, four rebounds and a steal.

Expect Jackson to play a crucial role until Nesmith is able to return since he can impact the game at both ends and plays with great energy. Long hoping for a breakthrough, Jackson has a chance to prove he can be a rotational piece at the NBA level if he stays healthy.