The Indiana Pacers narrowly took down the New York Knicks in an overtime thriller on Wednesday night, kicking off the 2025 Eastern Conference finals with a 138-135 win at Madison Square Garden and taking a 1-0 series lead.

It looked like New York was set to run away with this one with relative ease, as they were up 14 midway through the final frame, and up 11 with just over three minutes to go. Guard Jalen Brunson paced the Knicks with 43 points—and had the Garden jumping for joy.

Then, Aaron Nesmith happened.

The Pacers forward put the entire state of Indiana on his back down the stretch. Over the final 3:14 of the fourth quarter, he knocked down five consecutive three-pointers and scored 17 points to bring Indiana within reach with just 12 seconds to go.

A Tyrese Haliburton game-tying two-pointer—and a premature choking celebration—later, and this one found itself in overtime faster than you can say Chalamet.

Indiana ultimately outscored the Knicks 13-10 over the additional five minutes to come away with a historic Game 1 win. Haliburton led the way for the Pacers with 31 points on 12 for 23 shooting while Nesmith poured in 30 of his own. He was 8 for 9 from behind the three-point arc.

The Eastern Conference finals will continue on Friday night with an even more highly anticipated Game 2, set to tip-off from MSG at 8:00 p.m. EST.

More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pacers Mount Incredible OT Comeback Over Knicks Behind Heroic Efforts From Nesmith, Haliburton.

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