The rematch of last year’s 7-game Eastern Conference Semifinals match-up between the [New York Knicks](https://www.postingandtoasting.com) and the Indiana Pacers got off to a ridiculously fast start, with both teams coming out blazing. Indiana in particular looked like they had forgotten how to miss, hitting their first 9 shots from the field. New York though was able to light up the Pacer defense just as much in the early going. Both teams cooled off a bit in the 2nd quarter, but the Knicks were able to use their size and physicality to control the offensive glass, leading to more offensive possessions. A tough Jalen Brunson lay-up in the waning seconds of the half sent New York into the locker at halftime with a 69-62 lead.
The start of the 2nd half was a back-and-forth affair, as the Pacers slowly cut into a deficit that was as big as 11 with a renewed effort of their own on the offensive glass. Brunson had 9 in the quarter but thanks to some impressive shot making from Tyrese Halliburton, Indiana was able to cut the Knick lead to just 3 at the end of the 3rd. Brunson picked up his 5th foul just 2 minutes into the 4th, seemingly giving the Pacers a real chance at claiming a big lead. Instead, the Knicks responded with a 14-0 run, getting offensive contributions from all over and playing with a fury on the defensive end. Brunson made his return at the 5:00 mark and it looked like the Knicks were set to claim a Game 1 victory.
Indiana though had other ideas. A flurry of 3s, mainly from Aaron Nesmith, cut a 14-point Knick lead down to just 2. With time expiring, Halliburton threw up a long two that took an insane bounce before dropping, forcing an unlikely overtime period. The two teams traded buckets throughout the extra session, but it took an Obi-Toppin slam and Jalen Brunson’s 7th turnover of the game to ultimately seal the game and a comeback for the ages for the Pacers.
* This game belongs among the slew of legendary match-ups between these two teams over the last few decades. Both teams have shown tremendous resiliency in the rounds leading up to this one, so it should come as a shock to absolutely no one that one of them mounted a comeback in the very first game of what should be an amazing series.
* Indiana simply does not win this game without the heroics of Andrew Nesmith. Nesmith’s 8 made 3s marked a career high in any game and a Pacers franchise record for 3s in a playoff game, hitting 6 of them in the 4th to claw Indiana back from what looked to be an insurmountable Knick lead.
* Haliburton, thinking the long 2 that forced OT was actually a 3 and thus the gamewinner, imitated Pacers legend Reggie Miller’s iconic taunt, the, “choke,” hand gesture to the Knicks faithful inside Madison Square Garden. It’s an image that will in all likelihood be the one people recall when they look back on this game 30 years from now. Making matters worse for Knicks fans, none other than Reggie Miller himself was sitting courtside calling the game for TNT.
* Brunson had 43 points, but picked up some silly fouls throughout the 2nd half and had to play with a hand tied behind his back in overtime so as not to foul out. He also had 7 turnovers against just 5 assists, with more than a few of them being extremely costly. He’ll have to be much tougher with the ball and cut down on those turnovers as the series moves along.
* The Pacers mixed in a lot of full court pressure throughout the game, making it difficult for the Knicks to inbound the ball and forcing them to start their offense deep into the shot clock.
* There’s a stark contrast in the offensive styles of lead guards Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Halliburton. Brunson is like a bowling bowl and loves to seek contract, always looking to bump his defender on his drives to create angles for good looks. Halliburton doesn’t eschew contact, but he has a silkiness and smoothness to his game that lends itself to almost being able to dance through it.
* Indiana narrowed the offensive rebounding gap significantly after the Knicks looked like they were going to dominate that statistic, finishing the game with only 2 fewer rebounds than the Knicks. Their defense also forced New York into 15 turnovers, 7 of them coming from hounding and trapping Jalen Brunson.
Game 2 will be Friday night at 7:00 CT over on TNT.