Just moments before midnight on Wednesday, Jalen Brunson took the podium, his expression a mix of frustration and resolve. The scene wasn’t the victory celebration at Madison Square Garden that many Knicks fans had hoped for; instead, the team faced a bitter postgame atmosphere after suffering a crushing overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers, 138-135, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
This was a stark departure from the Knicks’ previous playoff heroics, where they pulled off incredible comebacks against the Boston Celtics, overcoming double-digit deficits with a blend of tenacity and grit. This time, however, they found themselves on the receiving end of an equally stunning turnaround, having led by as many as 14 points with under three minutes remaining.
“Our defensively lapses cost us,” Josh Hart lamented, pinpointing where things unraveled. “The intensity and physicality just dropped. Offensively, we got stagnant; it felt like we were playing not to lose.” It’s a sentiment that echoed throughout the locker room, with center Karl-Anthony Towns, who delivered a stellar performance with 35 points and 12 rebounds, adding, “We had a great game for 46 minutes, but those last two minutes were crucial. That’s on all of us.”
In that critical closing stretch, the Knicks couldn’t muster even a single stop. The Pacers ran hot, connecting on all six of their attempts, including five three-pointers. Aaron Nesmith led the charge, lighting it up for 30 points, as he found far too much space to operate. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was candid postgame: “He got too much air space.”
New York nearly escaped regulation when Tyrese Haliburton’s bizarre jumper, which ricocheted off the rim in a miraculous fashion, proved to be ruled a two-pointer instead of a three. That moment brought a brief sigh of relief for the Knicks, but ultimately, it would only delay the inevitable.
Overtime brought its own miscommunication woes. With the Knicks trailing 136-135 and 20 seconds remaining, there seemed to be confusion in their strategy for fouling the Pacers. That miscommunication paved the way for ex-Knick Obi Toppin to score an unchallenged dunk, leaving the team staring at each other in bewilderment.
In the final moments, Brunson, who had fueled the Knicks’ offense with a game-high 43 points, along with Towns both missed crucial three-point attempts, sealing their fate and turning what should have been a celebratory night into a sobering defeat.
The moments leading up to the tumultuous finish had initially felt promising. With about 10 minutes left in the game and Brunson on the bench due to foul trouble, New York held a narrow 94-92 lead. Yet they managed to surge ahead with a 14-0 run, giving them that coveted 16-point cushion and a sense that victory was within reach.
But as the final minutes unfolded, memories echoed of past playoff heartbreaks—specifically, the Pacers’ stunning comeback in 1995, when Reggie Miller scored eight points in nine seconds to steal a game at Madison Square Garden. That history hung heavy as the current Knicks faced their own ghosts.
As the series unfolds, one thing remains clear: both the Pacers and the Knicks have proven their mettle, each having executed remarkable comebacks in earlier playoff rounds. This matchup is as much about resilience as it is about skills, with Brunson leading the charge on close-game heroics this postseason, while Haliburton’s clutch shot-making has made him a dangerous adversary.
Now, as the Knicks stare down the reality of a tough series and a need to regroup, the objective is clear: avoid heading to Indianapolis down 2-0. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the pressure will only mount as they navigate the rest of this pivotal series.
