--- title: How the Knicks Lost Game 1 Against the Pacers description: The anatomy of a spectacular sports collapse. canonical: https://time.com/7287764/new-york-knicks-indiana-pacers-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-finals-game-one-collapse/ author: Sean Gregory article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-05-22T06:40:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:36:18.080Z article:section: Sports og:title: How the Knicks Lost Game 1 Against the Pacers og:description: The anatomy of a spectacular sports collapse. og:url: https://time.com/7287764/new-york-knicks-indiana-pacers-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-finals-game-one-collapse/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fb3de2d520d27a7/6998c6de83ec37708bc7a9cf/haliburton-pacers-knicks-game-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Indiana Pacers v New York Knicks - Game One og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How the Knicks Lost Game 1 Against the Pacers twitter:description: The anatomy of a spectacular sports collapse. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fb3de2d520d27a7/6998c6de83ec37708bc7a9cf/haliburton-pacers-knicks-game-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Anatomy of a Collapse: How the New York Knicks Gave Away Home Court Advantage in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent May 22, 2025 6:40 AM UTC  Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers is congratulated by teammates after scoring a game-tying basket against the New York Knicks as time expires in the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2025. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers is congratulated by teammates after scoring a game-tying basket against the New York Knicks as time expires in the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 21, 2025.Al Bello—Getty Images  by [Sean Gregory](https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Senior Correspondent May 22, 2025 6:40 AM UTC Tyrese Haliburton’s [last-second shot bounced off the back of the rim](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlCZ3%5FIXgbw). For an instant, the [New York Knicks](https://time.com/7285061/nba-playoffs-new-york-knicks-boston-celtics-jayson-tatum-injury/) fans in the raucous, partisan crowd of 19,812 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan—who a few moments earlier were primed to celebrate a win that would bring the Knicks one step closer to their first NBA Finals appearance in 26 years—could breathe a sigh of relief. Haliburton, the star Indiana Pacers point guard, appeared to have missed the attempt that would pierce their hearts, turn their stomachs into mush and transform their minds into a cauldron of rage. Or depression. Or both. Probably both. For the Knicks had [led the Pacers](https://www.nba.com/game/ind-vs-nyk-0042400301/play-by-play?period=Q4) by 17 points, 111-94, with 6:26 left in regulation of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With under five minutes left, the Knicks held a 15-point lead. The Knicks led by nine in the final minute. Turnovers, missed foul shots, and the red-hot shooting of Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith—who hit six fourth-quarter threes, the first player in NBA history to sink that many in the final frame of a playoff game—helped the Pacers cut the Knicks’ lead to two points, 125-123\. Haliburton dribbled into the lane, where Mitchell Robinson of the Knicks met him. He then moved to the top of the key, to fire up a shot over Robinson that would either appear to be a game-winning three, or a miss that would let the Knicks off the hook and preserve their victory. Though Haliburton's attempt clanged off the rim, it then did something surprising, to the horror of every [“go New York, go New York, go”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHt7zKc3YiA)\-singing Knicks fan in the Garden. It hung up in the air, hovering close enough to the basket to make one wonder if Indiana could pull off this miracle after all. “It looked like it had a chance,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after Indiana’s stunning and historic 138-135 overtime victory over the Knicks. “It was awfully high.” The Pacers on the floor were more confident. Nesmith was positioned under the basket. “I just watched it,” Nesmith said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that's good.’” Haliburton, who finished with 31 points, denied being at all deflated when the ball bounced off the rim. The shot felt true when it left his hand. “It felt stuck up there,” Haliburton said afterwards. “And honestly, when it went in, I was like, ‘my eyes might have been deceiving me.’” New York could only wish for illusion. But the make was very real. Haliburton, and most of the arena, thought his foot was behind the three-point line, and that his buzzer-beater ended the game. So the Pacers rushed the floor to celebrate. Haliburton, in a nod to Pacers legend Reggie Miller—who was sitting courtside as a member of the TNT commentating crew—made the [choke sign](https://www.facebook.com/barstoolsports/photos/hali-hit-the-reggie-miller-choke-in-the-gardenovertime/1093855396123025/?%5Frdr), just as [Miller did](https://www.ebay.com/itm/155665636105?chn=ps&var=455982311046&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=455982311046%5F155665636105&targetid=2299003535955&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9197632&poi=&campaignid=21214315381&mkgroupid=161363866036&rlsatarget=pla-2299003535955&abcId=9407526&merchantid=584893270&gad%5Fsource=1&gad%5Fcampaignid=21214315381&gbraid=0AAAAAD%5FQDh8dcmT%5F8ruIb3y-V4hY2rwMu&gclid=CjwKCAjw87XBBhBIEiwAxP3%5FA0o%5F2Eh8s-etDH81PG4MTupK-u7Iw4gYdtvcFNhUKIEGY2GR3wHVERoCAdEQAvD%5FBwE) at the Garden in Game 5 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, 31 years ago, when Miller scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to shock New York. Replay showed, however, that Hailuburton’s foot nicked the line. So the Pacers and Knicks were now in fact deadlocked, 125-125, and would have to go to overtime. “If I would have known it was a two, I would _not_ have done it,” said Hailburton of making the choke sign. “So I think I might have wasted it.” In the final minute of overtime, an Obi Toppin follow-up dunk and nifty pass from Haliburton to a cutting Andew Nembhard gave the Pacers the spark they needed to withstand two late three-point attempts from New York stars Jalen Brunson (43 points) and Karl-Anthony Towns (35 points), which would have tied the game. Given the playoff rivalry between the two franchises that dates back to the 1990s—and Indiana’s history of stinging the Knicks in their own building—Indiana’s comeback felt even more surreal. The Knicks bounced back from Miller’s display in ’94 to win that series, but the next year, in the second round of the playoffs, Miller [scored 8 points in the last 9 seconds](https://www.nba.com/pacers/8-points-9-seconds-anniversary) of Game 1 at MSG to steal what seemed an impossible victory. The Knicks forced a Game 7 in that 1995 series. But New York’s season ended when Patrick Ewing missed [a finger-roll layup at the buzzer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq3nvSyuWEg). New York clinched the 1999 Eastern Conference championship by knocking off the Pacers in Game 6 at the Garden, but the next year, Indiana sent the Knicks packing in Game 6 in New York. Ewing, New York’s Hall of Fame center, never played for the Knicks again after that 2000 loss to the Pacers. And before this season, the Knicks hadn’t returned to the conference finals since. Naturally, in 2025, the Pacers awaited. And of all the heartbreak Indiana has caused Knicks fans over the years, this might be the most searing. Because here’s an [incredible statistic](https://x.com/Pacers/status/1925413406246355251): over the past 27 postseasons, teams that led by 14 or more points in the final 2:50 of the fourth quarter were 970-0. 970-0\. Before tonight. Hailburton hit a three to cut New York’s lead to 119-108 with 2:39 remaining. After a Brunson miss, Nesmith hit a three to make it 119-111\. A Bruson layup with 59 seconds gave New York a comfortable 121-112 cushion. But Nesmith wasn’t done. A trio of Nesmith triples in the last minute, a bad Brunson pass, and missed foul shots by Towns and OG Anunoby set up Haliburton's dramatic end-of-regulation buzzer-beater. “It’s probably the best feeling in the world,” said Nesmith, “when that basket feels like an ocean, and anything you toss, you feel like it’s going to go in. It’s just so much fun.” The Pacers have a flair for the dramatic. Since 1996-97, teams that have trailed by 7 or more points in the final 50 seconds of the fourth quarter or OT in the playoffs are 4-1,702\. [Indiana](https://x.com/Pacers/status/1925396845670375872) has three of those wins, and they all came in this year’s playoffs. “It’s a 48 minute game,” said Carlisle. “We always say, Pacer basketball is 48 minutes. And tonight it was 53 minutes.” In his post-game meeting with reporters, New York coach Tom Thibodeau looked ashen and was at loss for explaining what unfolded. “You take disappointment,” he said, “and look to turn that into determination.” The Knicks and Pacers return to MSG on Friday night. “All my life,” a 21-year-old woman said while filing out of the arena, “this team has given me pain.” At least it can’t get much worse. 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