Choke or comeback? Pacers rally late, stun Knicks in OT

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton makes a choke motion toward the New York Knicks after hitting a shot at the end of the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference final on May 21, 2025, in New York. (AP)
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  • Reggie Miller famously flashed the gesture toward Knicks superfan Spike Lee while leading a Pacers comeback in a playoff game in 1994

Tyrese Haliburton was a bit premature after he mimicked Hall of Famer Reggie Miller鈥檚 infamous 鈥渃hoke鈥� sign at Madison Square Garden.
Nevertheless, Haliburton and his Indiana Pacers teammates made certain the gesture didn鈥檛 come back to haunt them in a 138-135 victory in overtime over the New York Knicks on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Haliburton scored 31 points and Aaron Nesmith added 30, highlighting an 8-for-9 performance from 3-point range by making five treys during the final 3 1/2 minutes of regulation. That surge allowed the fourth-seeded Pacers to overcome a 14-point deficit in the final 2:39 of the fourth quarter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unreal,鈥� Nesmith said of his sizzling shooting. 鈥淚t鈥檚 probably the best feeling in the world for me. I love it when that basket feels like an ocean and anything you toss up, you feel like it鈥檚 going to go in. It鈥檚 so much fun.鈥�
Haliburton appeared to win it following a friendly carom off the rim on an apparent 3-pointer at the buzzer, only for replays to show that his toe was on the line. That made it a 2-pointer and forced overtime.
When he thought the game was over, Haliburton made the choke sign in the direction of the Knicks鈥� bench.
鈥淚 thought it was a 3. I tried to hit the celly. It didn鈥檛 work. But we finished it in overtime,鈥� Haliburton said.
Miller famously flashed the gesture toward Knicks superfan Spike Lee while leading a Pacers comeback in a playoff game in 1994.
The third-seeded Knicks will look to bounce back in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Friday in New York.
鈥淚n the playoffs, when you win it鈥檚 the best thing ever. When you lose it鈥檚 the worst thing ever,鈥� said Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who finished with 43 points.
鈥淭he best way to deal with all of that is to stay level-headed. Making sure we have each other鈥檚 backs.鈥�
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle also kept it in perspective after the game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a long series. We鈥檙e not gonna get too excited about this,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got things to clean up. They鈥檝e got things to clean up. Game 2鈥檚 gonna be another war.鈥�
Andrew Nembhard sank a 3-pointer and two layups in OT, the last lay-in giving Indiana a 136-135 lead with 26.7 seconds to play. An attempted pass to Brunson deflected off his fingers and out of bounds, and former Knick Obi Toppin鈥檚 dunk extended the advantage to three with 10.9 seconds left.
Brunson and teammate Karl-Anthony Towns misfired on 3-point attempts in the final moments.
Pascal Siakam scored 17 points, Nembhard finished with 15 and Myles Turner added 14 for the Pacers. Haliburton handed out 11 assists.
Towns collected 35 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks.
Towns sank 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range, a big improvement after he made just 3 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc in New York鈥檚 six-game series victory over the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals.
Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby each scored 16 points in the loss.
Brunson committed his fifth foul with 10:05 remaining in the fourth quarter and retreated to the bench after T.J. McConnell made a free throw to pull Indiana within 94-92.
New York, however, went on a 14-0 run in Brunson鈥檚 absence, with Anunoby draining a 3-pointer and a short jumper to ignite the spurt. The Pacers did themselves no favors by fouling Miles McBride and Towns on 3-point attempts, with the duo combining to make 5 of 6 free throws.
鈥淚 feel like our intensity dropped,鈥� said New York鈥檚 Josh Hart, who amassed eight points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. 鈥淲e started playing slower. Playing more into their hands.鈥�