Returning to Indiana for the first time since last season’s painful Eastern Conference Finals exit, the New York Knicks flipped the script in dramatic fashion, breaking Pacers hearts with a tense 114-113 win that came down to the final seconds.
Jalen Brunson was the closer, drilling a cold-blooded three from the right wing with 4.4 seconds left on the clock. The finish was pure chaos after that. OG Anunoby jumped the inbound pass as Pascal Siakam lost his footing while trying to maneuver around Andrew Nembhard. Anunoby took off the other way looking to finish it with a dunk, and even though Siakam recovered to stop the attempt, the chaos ran out the clock and locked in the win.
This win came with plenty of context. Indiana is a very different team than the one seen last spring, following Tyrese Haliburton’s season-ending injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and a fall down the standings, sitting near the bottom of the East with only Washington below them.
The Knicks, meanwhile, arrived riding a six-game winning streak that included the NBA Cup Final and fresh hardware in their luggage. Even so, the deck was stacked against them. Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson, and Landry Shamet were all unavailable. Indiana had absences too, playing without Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, and Ben Sheppard.
The game itself was a full-blown roller coaster. Indiana came out flying, opening up a 16-point lead early and finishing the first quarter up 36-25. The Knicks steadied themselves in the second, answering with a 34-26 frame that suggested the early energy from the home side might fade. It did not.
The third quarter swung hard again. A three from Nembhard with 3:56 left in the period pushed the Pacers ahead 86-70, restoring their largest lead of the night. What followed was a lesson in resilience, sparked by Tyler Kolek. The sophomore took control, orchestrating the offense with poise well beyond his experience, finding shooters beyond the arc, cutters in the lane, and his own looks when needed. The result was a stunning 27-8 run that flipped the scoreboard to 97-94, though more than eight minutes still remained.
“The work always pays off, and it’s undefeated. What you put in, you’re going to get out. I firmly believe in that. I put in a lot of time.”
– Tyler Kolek
Indiana had another punch left. Siakam poured in nine points during a 15-5 stretch that put the Pacers back in front 109-102. That was the moment for the starters to close. Anunoby knocked down two massive threes, came up with the perfect steal, while Brunson’s late heroics, sealed Game 1 of the regular-season series between the two rivals.
Brunson finished with 25 points and seven assists, while Mikal Bridges added 22. Jordan Clarkson chipped in 18 off the bench, including five three-pointers. Kolek delivered the best performance of his young career, posting a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists. Anunoby contributed 16 points as well.
Indiana was led by Nembhard’s 31 points, with Siakam adding 26 and Bennedict Mathurin scoring 16.
The margins told the story of how narrow this one was. The Knicks struggled at the line, hitting just 11 of 19, while Indiana missed only a couple of its 18 attempts. The Pacers held a rebounding edge, 52-46. Points in the paint were dead even at 40-40. The difference came from deep and from ball movement. The Knicks buried 17 threes to Indiana’s 11, dished out 31 assists to the Pacers’ 22, and Kolek was at the heart of that advantage.
It was not pretty, it was not easy, but it was another reminder that this group knows how to survive late.
rady
KnicksOnline.com founder. Software tester by day time, sports shooter by free time. Rocking with the orange and blue since the mid 90s.