How bad was the New York Knicks’ Game 1 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night?
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, teams trailing by nine or more points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime of a playoff game were 0-1,414 since 1998.
The Indiana Pacers, facing a 17-point deficit, mostly with Jalen Brunson on the bench in the fourth quarter, whereby the Knicks went on a 12-0 run in his absence, called on the heroics of Andrew Nesmith for another postseason first. The Indy wing became the only player to score 20 points in a five-minute span of the fourth quarter of a playoff game (on 6-for-6 shooting from deep).
These heroics ultimately set up the Tyrese Haliburton long two, which forced the game into overtime. The Pacers won—shockingly so—138-135.
Erased were the 43-point and 35-point efforts from Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, respectively, the latter of whom refused to acknowledge an extended hand from OG Anunoby heading into a timeout with the Knicks clinging to a five-point lead with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Amid the chaos, Mikal Bridges calmly sat down between KAT and OG while Brunson had to pull Anunoby away. Tensions were flaring, and no late-game Brunson heroics could do their part to erase them.
For context, right before Nesmith nailed his fifth three, Pascal Siakam set a screen on Towns, who did little to fight around it, forcing Anunoby to slide over too late to help. Though KAT could be blamed for his lack of gumption, only before did Brunson flail at Nesmith on the wing, sliding over late for Nesmith’s third make, while Josh Hart lost his footing and slipped over late again as Nesmith connected on his sixth three.
In essence, half of those threes were the fault of poor efforts or positioning from Knicks defenders.
Speaking of Anunoby, who shot poorly from three (2-for-8): His failure to receive a slick outlet pass for an easy layup in transition from KAT, a missed free throw prior to Halliburton’s game-tying shot to close regulation, and a lazy pass to Brunson on a late OT possession proved debilitating in the Knicks’ failure to stop the avalanche that is the scramble-and-go style of offense that defined Pacers’ comebacks against the Bucks, Cavaliers, and now the Knicks in these playoffs to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Game 1 (OT): Final
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Many fans left the game early to join those who consumed the Madison Square Garden concourse, chanting “Knicks in four!” Quite humbly, they learned a singular, hard truth: These Pacers will not stop until the clock reads double zeroes.
How Celtics fans felt after the Knicks’ Herculean climbs to erase consecutive twenty-point deficits in Games 1 and 2 of the semis is precisely how Knicks fans feel at present: dejected, demoralized, and uncertain of what the hell just happened, with homecourt advantage now to Indiana.
Like watching Reggie Miller reel off 8 points in 9 seconds.
Like watching Patrick Ewing miss a game-tying finger roll in a Game 7.
Like watching Charles Smith duff try after try underneath the basket.
Like watching John Starks go 2-for-18 from the floor to lose Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Each time, Knicks fans were left catatonic, crumbling under the weight of decades of heartbreak, missed opportunities, and contention windows firmly slamming shut on their fingers.
Wednesday night was much like that.
Would the Knicks have been better served leaving Brunson on the bench amidst their run, knowing that by inserting him back into the lineup, they would be relinquishing Deuce McBride’s defensive ability? Giving Brunson that extra rest would have been great for the remainder of what is bound to be a long series, permitting a more defensively sound lineup of KAT-Bridges-OG-Hart-McBride, perfectly capable of running the offense for long stretches of the fourth, to close out what should have been a decisive Knicks win.
Losing a game of that ilk so early in the series provides the Knicks ample opportunity to reestablish themselves as the series progresses. Realistically, though, that doesn’t make Game 2 any less critical.
Even the series, and the Knicks can reclaim homecourt by splitting the next two in Indiana. Lose, and the Knicks might be Indiana-bound, with no guarantee of returning to the Garden.
Finishing off the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the second-best record in the NBA, in five games already provided the Pacers a significant morale boost. A series-opening win at MSG only does that much more to enhance Indiana’s confidence heading into a Game 2 the Knicks absolutely need to win, 48 hours removed from one of the most significant defeats in New York and NBA playoff history.
Meaningful basketball in May. The renewal of an intense rivalry. The Knicks and their fans asked for it, but how well can they embrace it?