The Indiana Pacers pulled off one of the unlikeliest upsets in NBA playoff history in Game 1 against the Knicks, becoming just the fourth team ever to win a postseason game when trailing by seven or more points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime.
The Indiana Pacers pulled off a near-impossible comeback on Wednesday night, defeating the New York Knicks 138-135 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Player of the Game
Tyrese Haliburton
33
Tyrese Haliburton
Points
Accuracy
Rebounds
Assists
The Knicks held a commanding 17-point lead with just six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Even with one minute remaining, New York was still up 121-112, seemingly in control. But the game unraveled in stunning fashion, as Indiana stormed back to steal the win.
According to NBA stats analyst Keerthika Uthayakumar, since the 1998 playoffs, teams trailing by seven or more points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime had a combined record of 3 wins and 1,661 losses.
That puts Indiana’s chances of winning at under 0.2% percent, making this comeback one of the most improbable in league history.
What makes it even more remarkable is that the Pacers now account for three of the four such comebacks in this year’s playoffs. The other two came in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks and their second-round clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The only other team to pull off such a comeback in the postseason was the Oklahoma City Thunder, who shocked the Los Angeles Clippers in similar fashion in 2014.
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