Pacers Stun Knicks to Take Game 1 of ECF | HOOPS Daily, 5/22/2025
Indiana somehow does it again, SGA wins MVP (finally), and more.
The Tip-Off: Two Insane Stats About Indiana’s Win
Indiana has made a habit out of insanely improbable comebacks these playoffs and I saw two stats that perfectly encapsulate just exactly what we’re seeing:
4 - 1,640: Since 1997-98, teams are 4-1,640 when trailing by 7+ points in the final minute of the 4th quarter/OT in a playoff game. 3 of those 4 wins are from THIS Pacers’ playoff run.
1-970: Teams were 0-970 in the last 27 years when trailing by 14+ points with under 2:50 left in regulation. This Pacers’ win is the first time a team it’s happened.
Game 1 of the ECF Was an Instant Classic
I’ve spent hours since the end of this game trying to figure out how I was going to sum up the basketball perfection I watched for 3+ hours as Game 1 between the Pacers and Knicks exceeded everything I could’ve imagined. I think the only way I can describe how happy this game made me is how bummed I was when I realized Thursday we go back to the Western Conference Finals and will likely have to endure another 24-48 hour cycle of free throw merchant discourse.
Really though, this game was unbelievable. These teams traded haymakers all night but it looked like the Knicks were going to put it away with a 14-0 run that pushed a 2pt lead all the way up to 16pts even with Jalen Brunson on the bench.
But, like they have all playoffs, Indiana refused to die. If Tyrese Haliburton hadn’t hit another insanely clutch bucket to force OT, we’d be declaring this the Aaron Nesmith game. Nesmith continued his insane post-season run with a huge 30pt performance including six threes in the fourth quarter, making him just the sixth player in NBA playoff history to hit six threes in a single quarter.1 He has been incredible to watch all playoffs but this was the type of performance that sucks the life out of your opponent.
The Knicks had this game won, the MSG crowd was going crazy, and fans were ready to flood the streets for the latest hype video. Instead, they’re going to have to recover quick from somehow losing this game despite a 43pt performance from Jalen Brunson and a game from Karl-Anthony Towns that looked a lot more like his regular statline (35pts, 4-8 3PT) than his mini-slump in the previous round vs. Boston.
“Give them a lot of credit. They closed the game out like they’ve been doing all playoffs,” Brunson said after. “Just not really good on our part.”
With Pacers’ legend Reggie Miller on the call for this entire series, it was a given that we’d likely see a homage to his infamous choking taunt but I don’t think anyone expected to see it this quick.
“If I would've known it was a two, I wouldn’t have done it… I might have wasted it.” Haliburton said. “If I do it again people might say I'm aura-farming”
As for head coach Rick Carlisle's thoughts on the celebration?
“Tyrese has earned the right to do whatever he wants.”
I can only hope Game 2 of this series brings the fireworks like this again.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is Your 2024-25 NBA MVP
After a seemingly longer wait than normal, we finally found out that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the 68-win OKC Thunder is our regular season MVP. It’s not a surprise that he won, he’s been the favorite most of the season, but the extended wait time for the announcement had some fans thinking there may be some kind of swerve to this year’s award.
Instead, we got a beautiful scene as an emotional Shai accepted the award and gave credit to his family, his wife, and his teammates in an extremely sweet speech.
Meanwhile, he also shared the love with his teammates, gifting them all new Rolexes among other gifts as a thank you for their contributions to his MVP-winning season.
Coming off a Game 1 win and heading into Thursday’s Game 2 showdown with Minnesota, the OKC vibes seem to be at an all-time high.
At the Buzzer
- WNBA expansion team Golden State Valkyries get first win in franchise history
- Wings’ rookie Paige Bueckers records first career double-double in just third game
- Shaq makes Draymond Green comment on his own Shaqtin a Fool moment
- SGA’s MVP win makes him 3rd Thunder MVP in 11 seasons
- SGA’s MVP win makes him eligible for $76M per year extension next off-season
- NBA fines Anthony Edwards $50,000 for using profanity in post-game media session
Can Minnesota Bounce Back Tonight?
Timberwolves at Thunder: Game 2 (OKC leads 1-0)
Thank you to everyone reading this, I hope you’re having a good day and week so far and doing well. I appreciate your time and attention each day. Take care.
Nesmith joins Steph Curry, Bojan Bogdanovic, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, and Michael Porter Jr. as the only players to hit that milestone but Nesmith stands as the only player to do it in the fourth quarter.