The Indiana Pacers (59-34 straight up, 44-48-1 against the spread) rallied from a 14-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining to force overtime and eventually capture a shocking 138-135 win at New York as 4.5-point road underdogs in Wednesday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Since play-by-play details started being kept during the 1997-98 campaign, teams leading by 14 points in the final 2:45 had posted a 994-0 record.
Not anymore.
Aaron Nesmith drained six consecutive 3-pointers at crunch time, the last of which cut the Knicks’ lead to 123-121 with 22.1 seconds left. After Indiana gave a foul, Karl-Anthony Towns made only one of two free throws to extend the lead to three.
New York purposely gave a foul on Nesmith, who made both free throws to trim the deficit to 124-123 with 12.1 ticks remaining. Then the Pacers gave a foul with 7.1 seconds left, but OG Anunoby only made one of two at the charity stripe.
Next, Tyrese Haliburton tried to drive into the lane before momentarily losing control of the ball. He quickly regained possession and went back to the 3-point line to launch a game winner at the horn.
As it turned out, he had one foot on the line, so the shot that initially hit the back of the rim before flying high in the air and then getting all net merely forced overtime.
New York (59-36 SU, 48-46-1 ATS) quickly took a four-point lead in OT, but Andrew Nembhard countered with a 3-ball to pull his team to within one. After Indiana got a stop, Nembhard put it in the lead with a driving layup.
With 1:44 left, Jalen Brunson buried a pair of free throws to put the Knicks back in front, but Haliburton responded with a layup. At the other end, Brunson drew a foul on Haliburton and made both free throws to put his team up 133-132 with 1:09 remaining.
Next, Haliburton missed a trey, but Obi Toppin came flying through the lane for a putback dunk with 54 seconds left. Once again, Brunson put his team back into the lead with a short floater in the lane, but Haliburton then found a cutting Nembhard for a layup and a 136-135 lead with 26.1 ticks remaining.
After Anunoby committed a turnover, Nembhard found Toppin for a dunk with 15.1 left. At the other end, Brunson and Towns both missed potential tying 3-pointers before time expired.
The Pacers hooked up money-line supporters with a +155 payout, while the 273 combined points soared ‘over’ the 222.5-point total.
Haliburton finished with 31 points, four rebounds and 11 assists compared to just two turnovers. Nesmith knocked down 9-of-13 field-goal attempts and 8-of-9 launches from downtown in a 30-point effort, while Pascal Siakam finished with 17 points, five rebounds, two steals and six assists without a turnover.
Nembhard added 15 points, four boards and four assists, and Myles Turner contributed 14 points and five rebounds. T. J. McConnell was also in double figures with 10 points.
Brunson had 43 points on 15-of-25 FGAs in the losing effort. Towns finished with 35 points and 12 rebounds, making 11-of-17 FGAS and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Mikal Bridges and Anunoby scored 16 points apiece.
New York had a 46-39 rebounding advantage, but it coughed up 15 turnovers compared to only seven by Indiana. Both teams shot 51 percent from the field, but the Pacers made 15-of-37 treys (40.5%). The Knicks hit only 11-of-34 (32.4%) from long distance.
As of Thursday morning, most books had New York listed as a 5.5-point home favorite for Friday’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. The total was 227 points, while the Pacers were +200 on the money line.
FanDuel has the Pacers as -168 ‘chalk’ for the adjusted series price, with the Knicks at +142 underdog odds. The series spread has New York at -1.5 games for a +370 payout, while Indiana is -1.5 games at a -102 price.
Tip-off for Game 2 is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT.