The game was a Knick win — NY leading by 15 pts with 5 minutes left, and by 14 pts with 3:14 left.
And then it wasn’t.
Aaron Nesmith went 6 for 6 from 3 in the final 4:45 — including 5 of 5 from 3 in the final 3:14 to help Indiana STUN the Knicks in Overtime, 138-135 on a Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden — game 1 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals.
Tyrese Haliburton tied the game in regulation on a shot from the top of the key that bounced up and out, went 8 feet high, then dropped in again — as he made the Choke signal with his hands around the throat the way Reggie Miller once did in the 90’s.
Dogfight in OT
Overtime was a dogfight — with NY taking a 135-134 lead with 35 seconds left on a Jalen Brunson floater.
But Andrew Nembhard scored on a drive to put Indiana ahead with 26 seconds left, and then Indiana forced a turnover on the inbounds, and Obi Toppin dunked to put Indiana up 3 with 15 seconds left.
A Jalen Brunson 3 and then a KAT 3 to try and tie it both rimmed out, and Indiana had the stunning win. With .2 seconds left on the clock and Indiana inbounding near their basket — Haliburton tossed the ball to KAT, covering, as a final insult as KAT desperately heaved it down court but of course it would not have counted as there was too little time for him to get it off.
Nesmith finished with 30 pts on 9-13 shooting — 8-9 from 3. Haliburton finished with 31 pts on 12-23 shooting (4-12 from 3). Brunson had 43 pts on 15-25 shooting (1-6 from 3). KAT had 35 pts on 11-17 shooting (4-8 from 3).
“There’s obviously disappointment when you fall short,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “We have to look at the film; make our corrections and we have to change quickly for game 2; we have to be ready for game 2. That’s all you look at. You have to take disappointment and turn that to more determination.”
“We didn’t close the game out,” said Josh Hart afterwards. “We started playing slower; playing more into their hands. We let that one slip. Now we got to make sure tomorrow we win it. We have to look (at the film) and see where we could have been better. And be right back Friday.”
Nesmith
Nesmith’s shooting was no surprise to NBA Analyst Ross Kreines, who noted “Tweeted this back in 2020 below on Aaron Nesmith but what also keeps him on the floor is his heart, toughness and willingness to do the little things.”
Kreines referring to a tweet from November 2020, where he said of Nesmith: “Aaron Nesmith can really shoot the ball along with his ability to take his man off the bounce which opens up his jumper more. Also, knows how to move off the ball, use screens, jab steps, step-backs to create space along with good size, athleticism and defends.”
Boy can he shoot the ball.
Indiana leads the series 1-0 with game 2 Friday night at MSG.
1. Indiana Came out Hitting Every Shot they Took
The Pacers came out hitting every shot they took — literally. They hit their first 9 shots — an Andrew Nembhard 3 pointer, Myles Turner jumper, Aaron Nesmith pullup, Tyrese Haliburton jumper, Turner 20-footer, Nesmith 3, Pascal Siamam dunk, Turner jumper, and Turner dunk — before Nembhard missed a 3.
PERFECT START FROM MYLES TURNER 🎯
5-5 early in the 1Q! pic.twitter.com/DvH4T63HO2
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
2. Knicks Counter — Take 36-34 Lead After 1
Meanwhile the Knicks were hitting most every shot they took too — and were down only 20-16.
And the Knicks kept coming — with Jalen Brunson in attack mode, and Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns doing a lot of scoring as well.
Mitchell Robinson entered the game with 5:17 left in the 1st quarter, with NY down 24-20 — and beasted on defense and the boards. He immediately grabbed 2 offensive rebounds, and blocked a Haliburton 3-pointer.
A Mitch Robinson offensive rebound with 2:38 left and feed to Miles McBride for a 3 pulled NY to within 29-25. A Mitchell Robinson alley oop slam off a Brunson assist tied the game 32-32.
Brunson lobs a BEAUTY up to Mitchell Robinson 💥 pic.twitter.com/HUDyeITiLP
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
Pain-in-the-ass T.J. McConnell came in for Indiana and upped the tempo immediately — penetrating on a drive to put Indiana up, but Brunson countered with a drive against McConnell. NY took a 36-34 lead after 1.
3. KAT & Brunson Lead Knicks to 7-Pt Lead at Half
T.J. McConnell continued to pester early in the 2nd quarter, and Bennedict Mathurin was getting buckets and/or free throws. But Cameron Payne countered with a couple of big 3’s — the later one putting NY up 51-46.
KAT started to dominate inside and out — finally hitting 3’s for the first time in a while; he had not taken many 3’s in the prior series against Boston — possibly due to an injured ring finger on his shooting hand, for which he’s been wearing a cast.
Aaron Nesmith, Tyrese Haliburton, and Andrew Nembhard kept scoring for Indiana, but KAT and Brunson answered — and NY had a 69-62 lead at the half.
4. Brunson-Haliburton Firefight in 3rd
The 3rd quarter was a dog fight — the Knicks maintaining a slight lead throughout but Indiana pulling to within 2 numerous times.
Haliburton was scoring on drives or free throws off drives, or 3’s. Jalen Brunson was going right back at him.
A T.J. McConnell drive with 6 seconds left pulled Indiana to within 90-87.
5. OG & KAT Lead Knicks to 16-Pt Lead in 4th
Indiana pulled to within 1 point several times early in the 4th, but Brunson kept coming.
And then OG Anunoby woke up. He was having a quiet scoring night — playing great D against Pascal Siakam — when he hit a 3 with 9:46 left to put NY up 97-92.
OG hit an 8-footer next time down for a 99-92 Knick lead.
HOME COOKIN’ FROM OG 🍳 pic.twitter.com/Qa9zboon83
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
The Knicks were applying an intense defense, forcing Indiana misses. KAT was RIPPING down rebounds, as was Mitchell Robinson.
This rebound from Mitchell Robinson is insane. 🔥
pic.twitter.com/FB5auJKgpx
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 22, 2025
KAT free throws put the Knicks up 12; a KAT jumper put the Knicks up 14 with 8 minutes left.
An OG bucket inside put NY up by 16 at 108-92 with 7:24 left.
A KAT 3 put NY up by 17 pts — 111-94 — with 6:26 left. The Knicks were going to win this.
Indiana rallied for a couple of buckets by Nembhard and Siakam, but Mikal Bridges answered and NY was up 113-98 with 4:45 left.
6. Nesmith 3-Pt BARRAGE Starts with 4:45 Left
And that’s when the Nesmith barrage began.
AARON NESMITH KEEPING INDY ALIVE 😱 pic.twitter.com/OuArgF2tkn
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
He just couldn’t miss.
He would come down and hoist up another 3 — and hit. And then again. And then again.
NESMITH AGAIN 🤯
INSANE SHOT-MAKING. pic.twitter.com/beU1AAoS66
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
In between all that, Haliburton hoisted up a 3 and hit.
The Knicks were getting buckets on the other end, but the Indiana 3’s kept slicing the lead.
7. Haliburton Ties It — Makes “Choke” Sign
It still looked like the Knicks would win when KAT went to the free throw line with 14 seconds left and NY up by 2. He hit the first free throw, but missed the 2nd.
Nesmith was purposely fouled and made 2 free throws to make it a 1-pt game.
OG was fouled — and made 1 of 2 free throws — and Indiana came down with 7 seconds left, NY leading by 2.
Tyrese Halliburton drove the lane — was forced back by Knick defense — ran out to the 3-pt lead and tossed up a shot — and missed as the buzzer sounded — the ball bounding high in the air — and then it came down and went in. As Haliburton made the “choke” sign.
Haliburton’s foot was judged to be on the line — so it was a tie game.
HALI DOES IT AGAIN 😱😱😱
INDY FORCES OT IN THE GARDEN! pic.twitter.com/WKFxuuaPYV
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 22, 2025
8. Knicks Lead 135-134 with 35 Seconds Left in OT
The Knicks came right back in OT — KAT scoring inside and then an OG bucket gave them a 4-pt lead.
But Indiana came back and the game went back and forth.
A Brunson floater gave NY a 135-134 lead with 35 seconds left.
9. Nembhard & Obi Win It
But Nembhard scored on a drive out of a time out, and then the Knicks lost the ball on the inbounds — the call made on a challenge. Indiana inbounded and Obi broke free for a dunk.
With 15 seconds left the Knicks inbounded after a time out, but Brunson missed a 3 with 10 seconds left — Josh Hart grabbing the offensive rebound and feeding KAT — but he missed a 3 and that was it.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401772989