Heartbreak at the Garden: Knicks Let Game 1 Slip as Pacers Stun in Overtime Thriller

Despite a 17-point lead and 43 from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks collapsed late as Aaron Nesmith’s fourth-quarter flurry of threes and Tyrese Haliburton’s clutch heroics gave Indiana a crushing 138-135 overtime win at MSG.

Knicks go down to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1

The New York Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, and they’ve opened their series against a familiar foe, the Indiana Pacers, with a fast-paced, hard-fought first game.

Game 1 tipped off with fireworks. Andrew Nembhard hit a three on Indiana’s first possession, and the Pacers came out blitzing Jalen Brunson full court. But the Knicks responded with grit. Josh Hart found Mikal Bridges cutting for an easy finish, and Karl-Anthony Towns buried a triple to answer Myles Turner’s interior scoring.

Still, Indiana came out swinging. They hit their first eight shots, spreading the wealth with all five starters scoring early. Turner was particularly dominant, knocking down threes, long twos, and converting inside without much resistance. Towns was making an impact offensively but struggled on the defensive end, often arriving late or leaving Turner wide open.

But the Knicks weathered the storm. Brunson began carving up Indiana’s defense with hard drives to the rim. Hart attacked downhill with force, and Mitchell Robinson was huge on the boards, collecting second chances and finishing an alley-oop from Brunson. New York forced key turnovers, including a Haliburton inbound that Hart jumped ahead on, leading to a Towns three and a Pacers timeout.

Off the bench, Deuce McBride hit a timely three and so did Hart. Bridges found his rhythm with smooth mid-range shots, and the Knicks matched Indiana’s early punch.

By the end of the first quarter, the Knicks led 36-34.

The second quarter belonged to the Knicks, who took control with sharper defense and improved offensive rhythm.

Although Bennedict Mathurin converted a tough and-one over Cam Payne and T.J. McConnell stayed aggressive with his drives, New York dictated the pace. OG Anunoby answered with a confident step-back three, and Mikal Bridges added a mid-range bucket before swatting McConnell’s shot on the other end.

Cam Payne, who had not hit a three since the first game in the Detroit series, finally got one to go from the corner, then knocked down another moments later. That stretch helped spark a 10-1 Knicks run while the Pacers went ice cold from the field. Then, Towns bruised his way through Myles Turner for a tough inside bucket, and Hart, Bridges, and OG continued to crash the boards hard.

New York’s effort on the glass made a difference on both ends.

Indiana looked absolutely rattled here.

Haliburton air-balled a three. Obi Toppin missed a fastbreak dunk. Mathurin failed to finish on a put-back. Turner also missed his first three of the game, and the Pacers went nearly five minutes without a field-goal as the Knicks kept piling up defensive stops.

Still, New York left a few points on the table. OG and Payne each missed open looks. Bridges missed a tip-in after an offensive board. But, the energy was all Knicks. Bridges and OG both came up with steals, and the ball was moving with more purpose.

Haliburton eventually snapped the Pacers’ drought, scoring 10 straight to keep them afloat. But, Brunson responded back. He slithered through the paint for tough finishes and baited Aaron Nesmith into his third foul, converting the and-one to help restore the cushion. Brunson then closed the half with another strong drive, giving the Knicks the final word.

The Knicks had finished the half on a 9-3 run and carried a 69-62 lead into halftime. They had flipped the tempo, set the tone physically, and left the crowd at MSG roaring in approval.

The Knicks opened the second half with the ball, but missed opportunities that piled up early.

Jalen Brunson’s floater rimmed out, though Josh Hart pulled in a gritty offensive board. Mikal Bridges drew a foul from Tyrese Haliburton, but missed both free throws, a rare letdown at the line. Indiana couldn’t capitalize, with Haliburton missing a driving layup and OG Anunoby responding by powering down a dunk inside off a feed from Brunson.

OG then came up big defensively, blocking Siakam’s layup attempt. But Nembhard tracked down the loose ball and found Haliburton, who knocked down a smooth two. The quarter was gritty, physical, and tense. Then, Hart stepped out of bounds for a turnover, Bridges swatted Haliburton’s three-point attempt, and Brunson was called for an offensive foul after getting tangled up with Aaron Nesmith. The Knicks challenged the call but ultimately lost. The call stood, and New York lost their challenge and a timeout.

Indiana clawed back with a Turner jumper and a Siakam post-up over Bridges. Brunson pushed through heavy pressure to create a Towns bucket, but a turnover on the next possession allowed Siakam to dunk it home off a steal. The Pacers went on a 10-4 run, cutting the lead to just three now and had forced a Knicks timeout.

After the break, Bridges snuck in a driving layup. Brunson and Haliburton traded tough buckets, mirroring each other’s movements and shot-making. But foul trouble started looming. Brunson was already struggling with four turnovers when he picked up his fourth foul, adding to the Knicks' concerns. Haliburton made both free throws, and the pressure mounted.

Despite that, Brunson answered with a tough and-one finish, then scored again after a Mitchell Robinson rebound and a McBride miss. New York switched sharply on defense, forcing a Haliburton airball and another Indiana timeout.

The rest of the quarter stayed chippy. Cam Payne returned but couldn’t get much going. Bridges missed a fadeaway. T.J. McConnell sliced into the paint but came up empty, while Thomas Bryant made free throws after drawing contact from Robinson.

Afterwards, Deuce McBride hit a long two to settle the Knicks briefly. Towns and OG kept the scoreboard moving from the stripe, while OG added a key block and a rebound bucket after stopping Toppin.

And in a surprise move, Delon Wright entered the game for Payne, his first playoff minutes as a Knick.

Still, Indiana kept it close. T.J. McConnell attacked the rim fearlessly in the final seconds, and New York’s last possession ended with a McBride miss.

Through the chaos, the Knicks still held onto the lead, up 90-87 entering the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, the Knicks surged ahead with a 10-0 run without Brunson, stretching the lead to as much as 17 behind OG Anunoby’s burst and strong interior play, but Aaron Nesmith’s fourth-quarter shooting barrage and Haliburton’s deep two at the buzzer sent the game into overtime tied at 125 apiece.

The final quarter started with Mathurin getting fouled by Deuce and hitting both free-throws. Brunson answered with a drive, and after Mathurin scored again, Brunson drove for another. T.J. McConnell drew Brunson’s fifth foul, sending him to the bench with 31 points.

Scary, right?

Well, hold that thought because OG had came alive the moment that Brunson left the floor. He stepped up immediately, hitting a three and scoring again inside between two defenders after a Towns block, giving New York an even bigger lead.

Deuce was fouled on a three and hit two of three. Then came his massive, highlight-worthy block on Siakam’s dunk attempt. This was followed by Towns, who drew a foul on a three and made all three free-throws. The Knicks were on a 10-0 run and were up by double-figures after OG scored again off a Robinson board.

Indiana then stopped the bleeding with a Siakam layup and then forced misses from Towns and OG. Towns later drilled his fourth three to make it 111-95. But the Pacers started to chip away. Nesmith knocked down three straight threes and Siakam hit a turnaround. Bridges hit a mid-range shot, but Indiana kept closing the gap.

With under a minute to go, Brunson hit a step-back three, Haliburton answered, and Nesmith drilled two more from deep to cut the lead to just five now. Towns scored inside, but another Nesmith three made it 123-121. Ouch.

It was safe to say that the Knicks were crumbling from the three-ball by Nesmith.

On the next possession, Towns was fouled and hit one of two. Nesmith was fouled back and sank both. OG then split his free throws to make it 125-123.

With no timeouts left, the Knicks tried to hold on. But, Haliburton rose up and hit an anxiety-inducing, high-bouncing jumper over OG to tie the game. He flashed Reggie Miller’s classic choke sign, thinking he had won the game with a triple, but the shot was later ruled as a two-pointer instead.

The buzzer sounded, and with the score tied at 125, the game headed to overtime.

In overtime, the Knicks went up early behind a Towns jumper and an OG layup after solid ball movement. Bridges got a steal, but Brunson was blocked by Turner. Nembhard hit a three, then scored again after a jump ball and a slip-up by Brunson. He later added a layup, knowing that Brunson couldn’t risk drawing too much contact or else he would’ve fouled out.

Brunson responded with two free throws, but Haliburton answered with a driving layup. Brunson then went back to the line and knocked down two more to reach 41 points. Obi Toppin subsequently rose up for a huge put-back slam to put Indiana up by one. Brunson came right back with a strong finish inside, but the Knicks couldn’t get a stop as Haliburton found Nembhard for another easy bucket.

With 26 seconds remaining, the Knicks lost the ball out of bounds on a deflection and Indiana challenged. The call was overturned. On the inbound, Nembhard found Obi for another dunk as the Knicks broke down defensively.

New York was suddenly down by three.

New York fans were now biting their nails, hoping for a miracle comeback. But on the next play, Brunson airballed a three, Hart grabbed the rebound, Towns missed his look, and Bridges lost the ball as he fell to the floor.

Indiana had done it. They had secured back possession with just 0.2 seconds remaining. And, that was that.

Game over. The Knicks had just lost their first game of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers, 138-135.

Overall, the heartbroken Knicks had four New York players in double digits: Brunson led the way with 43 points, Towns added 35 points and 12 rebounds, while OG and Bridges chipped in with 16 apiece.

On the other hand, the clutch and victorious Pacers had six players in double figures: Haliburton taking the forefront with 31 points and 11 assists, the hot-handed Nesmith with 30 points and eight electric threes, Siakam tallying 17-6-5, Nembhard putting up 15 points and four assists and rebounds, Turner hitting 14 points, and the sneaky T.J. McConnell touching 10 points off the bench.

Next up, the New York Knicks will be facing the Indiana Pacers at home again for Game 2 at MSG (0-1) on Friday May 23, at 8:00 p.m. E.T.