Denver Nuggets v Los Angeles Clippers - Game Four
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The Indiana Pacers stunned the New York Knicks last night by overcoming a double-digit fourth-quarter deficiet with just a couple minutes remaining to steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks were up 14 points with less than 3 minutes to go in the game, but the Pacers were still able to force overtime, where they ultimately won the game.
According to the analytics, the New York Knicks had a 99.7 percent chance of winning the game with 2:51 minutes remaining the in fourth quarter. Their loss to the Pacers is quite literally the most dramatic in the history of the NBA playoffs, as the Knicks became the first team to lose a playoff game when leading by 14 or more with 2:45 to play in the fourth quarter.
Prior to the Knicks Game 1 loss to the Pacers on Wednesday night, NBA teams had been a combined 994-0 when leading by 14+ with that much time left in the game. Last night, though, Aaron Nesmith caught fire, hitting six three-pointers in the fourth quarter, including three in the final minute or so.
In the final seconds of regulation, Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton hit a deep two-pointer that sent the game to overtime, where the Pacers would go onto win. After the game, TNT announcer and Pacers icon Reggie Miller couldn’t contain his bias as camera crews caught him in 4K big-upping Haliburton in the final seconds of the broadcast.
“After my postgame interview we locked eyes, had a little moment,” Haliburton said of Miller’s intense congratulatory glare.
Nasty troll job of the Knicks by TNT here with the cutaway to Reggie Miller. pic.twitter.com/lf2NbIinAr
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) May 22, 2025
“Reggie pointing at Hali like emperor f—— Palpatine bro i’m crying,” one viral tweet with over 43,000 likes joked.
In the Pacers’ massive Game 1 win over the Knicks, Haliburton had 31 points, 11 assists and 4 rebounds. Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Pacers will tip off from Madison Square Garden in New York City on Friday, May 23 at 8 p.m. EST.