The Indiana Pacers pulled off a huge overtime victory over the New York Knicks (138–135), stealing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals and taking a 1-0 lead in the series—putting them one step closer to the NBA Finals.
It was an incredible game that saw Indiana make history. The Pacers were down by 14 points with just 2:50 left on the clock, but managed to erase the deficit and force overtime, where they outplayed the Knicks and secured a well-deserved win.
Tyrese Haliburton was sure his jumper as regulation ended was going in, then wasn’t certain it had after it bounced high off the rim and hung in the air for what felt like an eternity.
He thought it was a 3-pointer to win the game, then quickly realized it was a 2 to tie. A lot to process, followed by just one thought with overtime looming.
“Then my focus just became winning it,” Haliburton said.
The Pacers did, finishing off their stunning rally by beating the New York Knicks 138-135 in overtime Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks led by 14 points with under three minutes remaining in regulation, but Aaron Nesmith brought the Pacers back with a flurry of 3-pointers.
Haliburton then hoped he had won it with another. With the Pacers down two and time running down, he started to lose control of his dribble, regained it and dribbled back out toward the 3-point line. He fired up his jumper and when it finally fell in, he raced toward the sideline and made a��choke signal to the crowd, like Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller did to Spike Lee while leading an Indiana comeback in a playoff game in 1994.
Replay confirmed that Haliburton’s toe was on the line and it was a 2-pointer that tied it at 125. Andrew Nembhard eventually made the go-ahead basket with 26 seconds remaining in OT.
Last night also brought the announcement of the NBA regular season MVP. According to reliable insider Shams Charania, that honor goes to Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The best player on the league’s top team has earned his first MVP award, finishing ahead of Serbian center Nikola Jokic and Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in the voting.
The Canadian point guard led the league in scoring this season, averaging 32.7 points per game. He shot an impressive 51.9% from the field, including 57.1% on two-pointers and 37.5% from beyond the arc, while also hitting 89.8% of his free throws. Gilgeous-Alexander added 5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1 block per game, missing only six games all season.
An outstanding campaign, now capped off with the MVP trophy.
