Josh Hart says Knicks ‘let off the gas’ during collapse vs. Pacers; Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns react

After staging several come-by-behind victories in their playoff series win over the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks were on the wrong side of a dramatic comeback Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers. 

Ahead by 14 points late in regulation, the Knicks ultimately found themselves on the wrong side of a 138-135 final score in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals that was the byproduct of being out-scored 20-6 during the final 2:51 of regulation. The Pacers forced overtime after Tyrese Haliburton hit a jaw-dropping shot that went through the net at the buzzer. New York led late in overtime, but lost after Indiana scored the game’s final two baskets of the night to take a 1-0 series lead. 

“Defensively, we let off the gas. The intensity and physicality weren’t there,” Knicks guard Josh Hart said afterwards, via ESPN. “Offensively, we were playing slower, and more stagnant. It looked like we were playing not to lose.”

The Knicks may have let their guard down, but that shouldn’t take away from how well the Pacers played down the stretch while pulling off one of the most incredible comebacks the history of the NBA playoffs, one that conjured up memories of Reggie Miller’s iconic eight points in nine seconds in Indiana’s win over the Knicks in the 1995 playoffs. 

Haliburton’s game-tying shot (which included a “choke” celebration, an homage Miller, who was broadcasting the game for TNT), immediately went viral and will surely live on in NBA playoff lore. But that moment wouldn’t have happened if not for the unconscious shooting of teammate Aaron Nesmith, who scored 14 points during the Pacers’ late-game comeback that included going 4 of 4 from downtown. Nesmith finished the night with a team-high 30 points that included a franchise playoff record eight 3-pointers. 

“He got too much air space,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Nesmith after the game. 

Nesmith’s late-game exploits highlighted one of the biggest keys of the game. The Pacers had a better night from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. Indiana also took much better care of the ball, turning it over just seven times while forcing 15 Knicks miscues. 

“In the playoffs, when you win, it’s the best thing ever,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, whose game-high 43 points was marginalized by his game-high seven turnovers. “When you lose, it’s the worst thing ever.”

While shocking, the Knicks’ loss shouldn’t completely overshadow the fact that they were in control of the game prior to the Pacers’ late surge. New York received several solid individual performances, had a better field goal percentage and had seven more rebounds than the visiting Pacers. 

As they look ahead to Game 2 on Friday night, the Knicks will look to continue doing what they did well on Wednesday while shoring up the issues that led to Indiana’s improbable comeback. 

“There’s a lot of things we did good and we put ourselves in position to win,” said Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, who posted a double-double with 35 points and 12 rebounds. “We played 46 good minutes. Those 2 minutes [are] where we lost the game, and that’s on all of us.”