Entering Wednesday, teams were 0-970 since 1998 when trailing by 14 with 2:50 remaining in regulation.
Make that 1-970 thanks to the Indiana Pacers.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
May 22, 2025
What A Finish: Haliburton, Nesmith fuel Indy’s late rally to take Game 1 in OT
Unreal, Again: Pacers continue to make history with latest 4th-quarter comeback
SGA = MVP: Thunder guard edges out Jokić and Giannis to win first Kia NBA MVP
Built On Stops: How the Thunder attack – even when the shots aren’t falling
Wolves Response: Minnesota looks to bounce back from Game 1 setback in OKC
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Ready for more…
The West Finals resume tonight in OKC (8:30 ET, ESPN) as newly-crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder seek a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Wolves try to send the series to Minnesota tied at 1-1.
1. HALIBURTON, NESMITH LEAD PACERS TO WILD GAME 1 WIN
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
In a postseason filled with unprecedented comebacks, the Pacers found a new way to one-up themselves.
Pacers 138, Knicks 135 (OT): Trailing by as many as 17 in the 4th and down 14 with 2:51 to play, Indy closed regulation on a 20-6 run to force overtime on a Tyrese Haliburton shot that will long live in Pacers lore.
In a back-and-forth OT, the Pacers prevailed to take a 1-0 lead in the East Finals. | Recap | Must-See Comeback
- Dynamic Duos: Haliburton (31 pts, 11 ast) and Nesmith (30 pts, 8 3pm) combined for 61 as the Pacers overcame the Knicks’ late lead and a combined 78 points from Jalen Brunson (43) and Karl-Anthony Towns (35 pts, 12 reb)
So how did all this happen? Let’s dive in early in the 4th quarter.
- Neither team held a double-digit lead until the Knicks went on a 16-1 run – with Brunson on the bench with five fouls – to go up 17 with 6:26 to play
- But the Pacers didn’t panic. They were in familiar territory. They knew they had time to make one final push
Enter Nesmith, who caught fire from beyond the arc down the stretch, hitting six 3s in the span of 4:22 of game time – the last one pulling Indy within two with 23 seconds left. He’s the only player since 1998 with at least six 3s in the 4th quarter of a Playoff game.
After trading free throws – Towns and OG Anunoby each split a pair for NY, Nesmith made both for Indy – it was a two-point game with 7 ticks left.
Enter Haliburton, who pushed the ball up the court, got into the lane, then retreated to the 3-point line and launched a shot at the buzzer.
- The shot hit the back of the rim, bounced straight in the air, reaching as high as the top of the shot clock – as the MSG crowd held its collective breath – before falling through the net
- What he thought was a game-winning 3 was a game-tying 2 as his toe was on the line
- Been There, Done That: Haliburton’s shot was his 4th game-tying, go-ahead or game-winning shot in the final 30 seconds of these Playoffs, tying Ray Allen for most in a single postseason since 1998
The game headed to overtime, where the Knicks scored the first four points, but the Pacers charged back with a 5-0 burst, as Andrew Nembhard’s layup with 2:12 gave Indy its first lead since the 2nd quarter.
It was the first of seven straight lead changes over the span of 105 seconds as the teams traded clutch haymakers.
- Pacers 130-129: Nembhard layup (2:12)
- Knicks 131-130: Brunson FTs (1:44)
- Pacers 132-131: Haliburton layup (1:22)
- Knicks 133-132: Brunson FTs (1:09)
- Pacers 134-133: Obi Toppin putback dunk (0:54)
- Knicks 135-134: Brunson floater (0:36)
- Pacers 136-135: Nembhard cutting layup (0:27)
But a NY turnover with 20 seconds left gave the ball back to Indy and Toppin – the former Knick – slammed home a cutting dunk to make it a three-point game with 15 seconds to play for the final points of the night.
What’s Next: Indy leads 1-0 with Game 2 back at MSG on Friday (8 ET, TNT).
2. UNREAL, AGAIN: PACERS PULL OFF ANOTHER ICONIC COMEBACK
Al Bello/Getty Images
Karl-Anthony Towns denied Pascal Siakam at the rim. Josh Hart pulled in a rebound and found OG Anunoby up the floor, who went right to the rack for two.
The Garden erupted. Towns roared. Timeout, Indiana.
- The Knicks were on a 16-1 run, and MSG’s first East Finals game in 25 years saw its team up 108-92 with 7:22 left
- Minutes later, Jalen Brunson splashed a triple to put New York up 14 with 2:51 left
Ball game, right?
Not if you ask Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers.
- “We’ve played a lot of games where it felt like the other team had control,” said Haliburton postgame. “But it ain’t over ‘til it’s over – until it hits zero.”
Pacer Perspective: There have been seven 17+ point comebacks this postseason – the most in any Playoffs since play-by-play tracking began in 1997-98.
The Pacers are responsible for four of them.
- Built For The Impossible: Indy’s four 17+ point comebacks are the most in a single Playoff run in the play-by-play era – and the Pacers have only played 11 games so far
- Refusing To Go Away: Three of those four comebacks have come on the road – also an NBA record – and two have come after halftime
- And It’s Nothing New: The Pacers have now won 12 games in 2024-25 (reg+post) when coming back from 15 points down – the most in a single season since 1997-98
- “We’ve shown it all year,” said Haliburton postgame. “We’ve had to win in so many different, random, unique ways.”
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
When you think you have them – when opposing fans stop worrying about beating Indy and start worrying about beating traffic – you don’t.
Serial Spoilers: Entering the Playoffs, only one team in the last 27 years had completed a 7+ point comeback in the final minute of a Playoff game.
The Pacers have three in this postseason alone – one in each different round – and two on the road.
- Wednesday at Knicks: Down 9 with 0:58 left in 4Q | Won 138-135 (OT)
- May 6 at Cavs: Down 7 with 0:48 left in 4Q | Won 120-119
- April 29 vs Bucks: Down 7 with 0:40 left in OT | Won 119-118 (OT)
All three of those wins saw last-second shots from Haliburton – the first, a layup in OT to oust Milwaukee, the second a 3 to beat the Cavs and the third last night to force extra basketball in New York.
- Always Closing: Indy as a whole has been just as dangerous in the clutch, posting a 160.5(!) offensive rating for a perfect 6-0 clutch record – both first among all Playoff teams
- “It’s a muscle,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle on Indy’s countless crazy wins. “The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.”
But for some, it’s still unbelievable.
- Charles Barkley: “I just saw something I’ve never seen before.”
- Caitlin Clark (via X): PACERS ARE THE GREATEST COMEBACK TEAM IVE EVER SEEN
- Manu Ginobili (via X): Are you kidding me?? 🔥🔥 Unbelievable! So much fun!
3. SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER WINS FIRST KIA NBA MVP
Just two days after turning 21 years old, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was traded from the LA Clippers to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was the first step of a journey that saw SGA rise from a promising talent, to an All-Star, to an All-NBA performer, to the league’s scoring champion and the Kia NBA MVP – which was announced on Wednesday. | SGA’s MVP Mixtape
- Dreams To Reality: “I never thought this would happen, I dreamt about it as a kid.” See SGA’s acceptance speech as he thanked his teammates and credited his family for helping him reach this point
- Global Game: Hailing from Toronto, SGA’s win gives international players seven straight MVPs and the 13 overall. He joins Steve Nash as the only Canadians to win the award
Now 26, the seventh-year pro put together a career year to lead the Thunder to its best regular season in franchise history.
- The Numbers: 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.72 steals, 1.01 blocks, 51.6% shooting in 34.2 minutes over 76 games, leading OKC to a league-best 68 wins
- SGA 🤝 MJ: Shai joined Michael Jordan (2x) as the only players in NBA history to average 32+ points and 6+ assists on 50%+ shooting
- More Than A Scorer: Among players that averaged 25+ minutes, SGA ranked 5th in both offensive (122.4) and defensive (105.7) efficiency and led all players in net rating (16.7) this season
- Leading The Rise: As SGA elevated his game, the Thunder’s team success followed. Over the past five seasons, OKC’s win total has risen from 22 to 24, 40, 57 and 68
SGA joins Kevin Durant (2013-14) and Russsell Westbrook (2016-17) as the third MVP in Thunder history. But his path to the MVP is unique. He doesn’t have Durant’s size. He doesn’t have Russ’ explosiveness.
Instead, Shai plays the game with a sense of cool and calm – what many have described as aura. He’s never rushed. He plays at his own pace. He’s in control. He finds his spots and knocks down his shots – from mid-range, at the rim, beyond the arc. He trusts the work he’s put in.
- “I always thought that I could be a really good player because I had seen what putting your head down and working and controlling what you control can do for you … I made tremendous strides, but I never thought this was going to happen.”
- SGA and the Thunder are up 1-0 in the West Finals as they seek their first trip to the Finals since 2012 and first NBA title in OKC
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SGA beat out a pair of multi-time MVPs in 3-time winner Jokić (2nd) and 2-time winner Giannis (3rd), who both had historic seasons of their own.
- In The Race: Jokić had his 5th straight top-2 finish in MVP voting, a streak topped only by Larry Bird (6) & Bill Russell (6)
- Giannis tied Kobe and Jordan with his 7th straight top-4 finish, trailing only LeBron (11), Russell (10), Magic (9) & Bird (9)
4. THUNDEROUS DEFENSE: THE ART OF CHAOS
Tuesday marked the Paycom Center’s first West Finals game in nine years – but it wasn’t the 1st half the crowd envisioned as OKC shuffled back to the locker room for halftime.
SGA was 2-of-13 from the floor. Jalen Williams was 2-of-8. Chet Holmgren had 2 points. And OKC had just 44.
Yet the Thunder were only down four.
- “To play as poorly as we did offensively in the 1st half and be down four was a major victory for us at halftime,” said OKC coach Mark Daigneault. “And the defense was a huge catalyst in that.”
Defense has been OKC’s catalyst all season – from the Kia NBA MVP through the end of the bench – and it’s carried into the Playoffs.
- Hands Everywhere: Three Thunder finished in the top 10 in steals this regular season – SGA (2), Cason Wallace (6) and Williams (10) – making OKC just the second team to accomplish such a feat since steals were first tracked in 1973-74
- Historic Start: This postseason, the Thunder have recorded 130 steals – the most by any team through 12 Playoff games since the 1975-76 Warriors
But OKC isn’t worried about matching half-century-old records – it’s focused on getting the next stop.
- “Our defense is not predicated on us stealing the ball,” said Williams earlier this week. “It’s more about the approach that we have, how competitive … how many rotations we can make…”
- “We’re trying to be as aggressive as possible and cover up for each other. If that results in a turnover, great. But we’re just trying to contest every shot, rebound everytime and just stack defensive possessions.”
Collective Pressure: Four of the top six rated defenders this postseason (min. 25 mpg) are Thunder. That’s no accident – rather the by-product of commitment and connectivity, turning five athletes into one cohesive force.
That force doesn’t just smother opponents, it fuels OKC on the other end, generating 303 points off turnovers this postseason – the most by any team through 12 Playoff games since 1998.
“You can’t always control if the ball goes in,” said SGA on Sunday. ”But defense – you can always control.”
5. BEEN HERE BEFORE: WOLVES LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK TONIGHT
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Since Jan. 1, no team owned a better 2nd-half point differential in the regular season than the Wolves (+6.3), who went 35-8 in games when leading at the break.
Minnesota carried that momentum into the Playoffs, entering the West Finals 5-0 when leading at halftime, with a +51 scoring margin in the final two quarters.
But on Tuesday, OKC flipped the script – erasing a four-point halftime deficit by outscoring Minnesota 70-40 after intermission.
- “We didn’t have a lot of patience in the 2nd half,” said Wolves coach Chris Finch. “Our rushed offense didn’t get a bunch of quality looks … and when we did get good looks, it didn’t go down.”
That impatience showed in Minnesota’s shot selection – where it was forced to settle.
- Cold From Deep: The Wolves launched 51 3s on Tuesday – the most ever by a team in a Conference Finals game or later – and made just 15
- Inside Drought: They were also held to a season-low 20 points in the paint – 22 fewer than their previous Playoff low
- No Room To Roam: That started with OKC containing Anthony Edwards, who entered the series averaging 17.1 drives per game. In Game 1, he had just seven – and took only one shot in the paint
- “I definitely gotta shoot more,” said Ant after the loss. “It was kind of hard to get the paint, honestly. That’s my game, but they definitely took that aspect of my game away.”
Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Still, Edwards’ and Minnesota remain confident – because they’ve been here before.
- WCSF Rewind: The Wolves were also held to 88 points in a Game 1 loss to the Warriors. In Game 2, the poured in 117 en route to winning four straight
- The Round Before That? Minnesota was held to 85 points in a Game 2 loss to the Lakers – then dropped 116 in Game 3 and won out to take the series
- “We proved that we can do it,” said Julius Randle on bouncing back. “But we gotta make it happen too.”
Making it happen starts with Randle (19.2 pts, 4.9 ast) and Edwards (28.1 pts, 4.6 ast), who are combining for 47.3 points and 9.5 assists in games following a loss.
The Result? Minnesota hasn’t lost back-to-back games since March 19.
