Pacers tie it on buzzer beater after historic comeback, beat Knicks 138-135 in OT

Tyrese Haliburton tied the game with a long jumper that bounced high off the back of the rim and in as time expired in regulation, then the Indiana Pacers went on to finish off their stunning rally by beating the host New York Knicks 138-135 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Knicks led by 14 points with under 3 minutes remaining in regulation, but Aaron Nesmith brought the Pacers back with a flurry of late 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 a Pacers comeback in a playoff game in 1994.

Knicks led by 14 with 2:45 to play in 4th quarter and now are in OT vs Pacers. Teams leading playoff game by 14+ in final 2:45 of 4th quarter are 994-0 in play by play era (since 1997)

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) May 22, 2025

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.

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.

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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The Indiana Pacers were down by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter, and still trailed by 14 points with 3 minutes and 14 seconds left in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at New York on Wednesday night.

What happened next was historic.

The Pacers scored 23 points in the final 3:14. No team, at least in the play-by-play era that goes back to 1997, had scored that many in the final 3:14 of regulation of a playoff game.

And the Pacers would go on to win in overtime, outscoring the Knicks 13-10 in the extra session to prevail 138-135.

The anatomy of a comeback:

3:14 left — Aaron Nesmith makes a 3-pointer for Indiana. Knicks 116-105.

2:51 left — Jalen Brunson makes a 3-pointer for New York. Knicks 119-105.

2:39 left — Tyrese Haliburton makes a 3-pointer for Indiana. Knicks 119-108.

2:04 left — Nesmith makes a 3-pointer. Knicks 119-111.

1:20 left — Pascal Siakam makes a free throw for Indiana. Knicks 119-112.

0:58.8 left — Brunson layup. Knicks 121-112.

0:51.0 left — Nesmith 3-pointer. Knicks 121-115.

0:41.7 left — Karl-Anthony Towns makes 6-footer for New York. Knicks 123-115.

0:34.0 left — Nesmith 3-pointer. Knicks 123-118.

0:22.6 left — Nesmith 3-pointer. Knicks 123-121.

0:14.3 left — Towns free throw. Knicks 124-121.

0:12.4 left — Nesmith makes two free throws. Knicks 124-123.

0:7.3 left — OG Anunoby makes free throw. Knicks 125-123.

0.0 left — Haliburton jumper. Tied 125-125.

INDIANA (138)

Nesmith 9-13 4-4 30, Siakam 7-16 3-5 17, Turner 6-11 1-2 14, Haliburton 12-23 3-4 31, Nembhard 6-10 1-2 15, Toppin 4-9 0-0 8, Bryant 1-3 2-2 4, Mathurin 2-5 5-5 9, McConnell 4-9 2-4 10, Sheppard 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 51-100 21-28 138.

NEW YORK (135)

Anunoby 6-15 2-4 16, Hart 3-6 1-2 8, Towns 11-17 9-11 35, Bridges 8-16 0-2 16, Brunson 15-25 12-14 43, Robinson 1-1 0-2 2, McBride 2-7 4-5 9, Payne 2-7 0-0 6, Wright 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 48-94 28-40 135.

3-Point Goals_Indiana 15-37 (Nesmith 8-9, Haliburton 4-12, Nembhard 2-3, Turner 1-4, Bryant 0-1, Mathurin 0-1, McConnell 0-1, Sheppard 0-1, Siakam 0-2, Toppin 0-3), New York 11-34 (Towns 4-8, Payne 2-5, Anunoby 2-8, Hart 1-3, McBride 1-3, Brunson 1-6, Bridges 0-1). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Indiana 39 (Toppin 10), New York 46 (Hart 13). Assists_Indiana 26 (Haliburton 11), New York 24 (Hart 7). Total Fouls_Indiana 24, New York 23. A_19,812 (19,812)