NEW YORK (AP) — 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.
Game 2 is Friday night.
Haliburton had 31 points and 11 assists. Nesmith finished with 30 points, going 8 for 9 from 3-point range.
The Pacers won a game against Milwaukee in the first round when they trailed by seven points with 40 seconds left in overtime, then stole one from top-seeded Cleveland when they were behind by seven with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.
Another round, another comeback.
“It’s always special. It’s always fun,” Nesmith said. “This is what we live for.”
It was a thrilling start to the ninth playoff matchup between these fierce rivals from the 1990s — but a deflating finish for the Knicks in their first Eastern Conference finals game since 2000.
Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 12 rebounds. But the Knicks couldn’t protect the big lead they built while Brunson was on the bench in foul trouble in the fourth quarter and had a collapse unlike any other in the postseason.
Teams leading by at least 14 points in the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter had been 994-0 since detailed play-by-play began being kept in 1997-98.
“Give them a lot of credit. They closed the game out like they’ve been doing all playoffs,” Brunson said. “Just not really good on our part.”
The Pacers beat the Knicks in Game 7 of the East semifinals at Madison Square Garden last year, routing a team that had been decimated by injuries.
This was an entirely different way to win, with the Pacers looking all but out of the game after the Knicks’ 14-0 run with Brunson on the bench pushed New York’s two-point lead to 108-92.
Even after Nesmith started to get hot, the Knicks seemed safe when Brunson’s 3-pointer made it 119-105 with 2:51 to go. But Nesmith would later hit consecutive 3s and both free throws when the Knicks fouled him intentionally so he couldn’t try to tie it with another, giving Indiana the chance to tie on Haliburton’s shot.
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