Pacers tie it on Haliburton’s jumper at buzzer, then beat Knicks 138-135 in OT of East finals Game 1
Baku, May 22, AZERTAC
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, according to AP.
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.
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.
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