After the New York Knicks blew Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers, Stephen A. Smith was in no mood to sugarcoat what he saw from his beloved team.
Smith appeared on SportsCenter ahead of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. When host Elle Duncan asked Smith for his reaction to Indiana’s Game 1 comeback, sparked by Aaron Nesmith’s eight three-pointers, Smith bluntly stated, “It was a choke job.”
“I was just finished arguing in the back room with former Knick Iman Shumpert; it was a choke job,” Smith said. “When you have a 17-point lead with under five minutes left. When you have a 14-point lead with 2:40 left. When you have a 9-point lead with just 52 seconds left and you blow that game, there is no excuse for that.
“Now, Shumpert tried to throw at me, ‘Yo, man, Nesmith went berserk and he hit six threes in the fourth quarter, including three in the last minute.’ Last time I checked, when the other team scores, you still get the ball back. How does that explain missed free throws? How does that explain turnovers? That’s what we’re looking at when we’re talking about the New York Knicks losing in Game 1 to the Indiana Pacers last night at Madison Square Garden.”
Stephen A. Smith on the Game 1 “choke job” from his New York Knicks. #NBA #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/pVQFrZZfIu
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 22, 2025
Smith then detailed the historic nature of the loss, adding that opposing teams have a habit of making history against the Knicks in the playoffs — especially at Madison Square Garden.
“No team that has led by 14 or more with 2:45 left in a regulation game has ever lost in NBA history — until last night,” he said. “So here we are again, as I’m sitting here on SportsCenter talking to y’all, and once again, somebody else made news at Madison Square Garden other than the New York Knicks. Doing it directly at their expense. Will they answer the call? Will they resurrect themselves? Will they make amends for that atrocious ending last night? I don’t know. I just know they better. Because, like I said about OKC and Minnesota. You’re the New York Knicks. You do not want to fall down to the Indiana Pacers 0-2, having to win four games with a potential 5 games left in the series.”
Smith’s frustration continued during ESPN’s pregame show, this time with a prop, a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, courtesy of Malika Andrews.
Stephen A. Smith gets some Pepto-Bismol for his latest rant about the Knicks’ Game 1 meltdown vs the Pacers. #NBA #NBAPlayoffs https://t.co/QFnOsWhLVo pic.twitter.com/a91Xa5PJ7s
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 22, 2025
For Smith, there’s one way that the Knicks can recover from what happened in Wednesday night’s Game 1.
“The New York Knicks are gonna have to overcome that and make amends for the embarrassing, historic ending to the debacle that took place last night.”