Knicks vs. Pacers was too absurd for words, so Tyrese Haliburton opted for a choke sign and some pineapple

New York-“Damn what an F — Ing game,” said Tyrese Haliburton on Wednesday in the changing room of the visitors in the Madison Square Garden. Then the star of Indiana Pacers grabbed a pinion of pineapple from the aftermath.

Haliburton looked like he couldn't believe What had happened just Just like the rest of us. The Pacers were the New York Knicks with 14 points with less than three minutes in the fourth quarter. Just to force overtime, the Indiana Wing Aaron Nesmith had to climb into a higher plane during the crunch time, and Haliburton had to play a game with a number stroke and boot-the-line 2 at the end of the regulation. The shot hit the back of the edge, hopped straight up and fell through the network.

“It must be the shoes, man,” Haliburton announced after the victory of 138-135 in game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. “Go and get them for sale now.”

Haliburton's pumas is not the main reason for the shocking victory of the Pacers shock. Three times in this post-season, Haliburton and his team have (apparently) impossible: the series clinching game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and the 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, both of which ended with Haliburton game wins, and now.

The more you give your finger to your likelihood of late game, the more difficult it is to explain it.

Before these playoffs Just one team In the time of Play-by-Play (i.e. since 1995-1996) Ever come back from a seven point deficit in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime in a playoff game. Indiana did that three Times in 23 days. And his recent ridiculous rally was even more unlikely than the two who preceded her: Before Wednesday, teams who were in the last 2:45 of the fourth quarter in play-by-play-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-0, per Josh Dubow by The Associated Press.

A possible explanation for the apparent superpower of the Pacers: each comeback makes the next appear more realistic. According to the Thomas Bryant reserve center, they did not directly discuss their youngest heroicism after the Knicks had taken a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter. “We don't try it,” he said, “because it is very difficult to do every time.” However, they did not have to refer to these victories against Milwaukee and Cleveland to have been supported by them.

“We would choose not to be in these positions,” said Bryant. But they knew “that we were here before and we can somehow get out of it.”

In order to train Rick Carlisle, Indiana's ability to perform well at the end of the games goes back in the regular season. No team had a better point differential in the clutch in 2024-25.

“Many of the games we fought were games that we had to pull out,” said Carlisle. “It was Clutch games when we didn't play particularly well. And it is a muscle. The more they do it, the stronger it gets.”

Haliburton, the game 1 with 31 points and 11 templates ended in 42 minutes, went back further. He said he went through a “baptism through fire” after the Pacers had been acted against him in the period in 2022.

“We would be in these moments when I would have to take these recordings,” said Haliburton. “And I would miss her and nobody would be interested. Pacer fans would do it, but we weren't very good, so it didn't matter, we weren't a playoff team or anything.”

The experience, said Haliburton, was the best teacher. Myles gymnast described the team as a “fight”. You can't exactly expect A team that carries out historical runs all the time, but he was no longer surprised.

“It is up to the point where I am only used to it,” said Turner. “I have so much confidence in this group.”

Another possible explanation: Indiana's playing style is beneficial for comebacks. Instead of accepting the cliché that the game slows down in the crunch time, the Pacers simply play their way: the ball with the full place, runs and misses and cause as much confusion as possible on the half court. Your opponent could now run for steaming because everything Indiana does should tire the other team over time.

“It is difficult for me to discredit and to say that the wear effect Wasn't There, “said Haliburton.” I think that is part of it from everything you see, and I think that's part of our identity: How can we wear 48 minutes in teams? Obviously to take up a full courtyard and our offensive pressure, go downhill, move, play quickly. I thought we did a good job aggressively to play our style. “

Indiana was exceeded in game 1, but the Knicks did not let insulting boards take at the end of the fourth quarter and there were a few in OT. Haliburton also noticed that New York “missed a few free throws there on the track, there was a few short mistakes at the end of the game”.

Some due to their physically demanding style, the Pacers bend into their depths. Before Nesmith broke out twice in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter of 20 of his 30 points – including six times in a row – 3S, he had been exposed twice during this period. Ben Sheppard, who did not play in the first three quarters at all, registered in the fourth seven minutes, which Aaron “gave the chance to rest a little,” said Carlisle. “So he came back into play fresh and had his legs.”

Another possible explanation: Indiana can stick together in difficult situations because it is summarized. Haliburton pulled a straight line out of the front office to keep the squad of the past year together until the team's resistance.

“We are just a group that spent a lot of time together,” said Haliburton. He added that they went through large stripes in both directions and have all confidence in each other. “We have the feeling that we know where everyone will be,” he said. “We have high expectations, but I think we also hold ourselves accountable.”

Haliburton said that his self-confidence results from the knowledge that his teammates and coaches want him to make last second shots, as well as Pacers fans. “I think everyone lives and dies at that time,” he said. During the overruns in the fourth quarter, the Pacers showed “big contagious emotions for each other,” said Bryant, even when they went back by 16 points (with 7:22 left) and 14 points (with 3:44 left). They “clapped it” and “talk to each other, gave each other self -confidence,” said Bryant.

“We have” continued “in connection with”.

Indiana was “a lot on the side,” said Carlisle, but it was possible to keep the course. After Nesmith had driven into the heating of a life, he said: “I didn't really notice what I was doing at the moment, I just tried to win the basketball game.” In other words, he was unconsciously in a flow state. The last three minutes were “a kind of blurring to be honest,” he said. “Just fight for every loose ball scrap, boxing, shots, playing games and doing everything to win.”

Initially, the Pacers thought that Haliburton's Summerbeater was a 3. Otherwise, they would not have jumped on him in the cheers, and he would definitely not have channeled Reggie Miller's Choke celebration. After finding out that they had to play for five minutes, they had to “take all of their jersey, their neck, arm and their longing,” said Turner. “Just bring her into the Huddle, say her, 'let's go, man. It's not over yet. We have given ourselves a chance.'”

The plan for the future is not to rely on the fact that “the rest of the series will be shot to hell for three minutes,” said Turner. Indiana will take victories, but it can get it, and if it faces another discouraging deficit in the crunch time, it will continue to play its game. If the Pacers' former comebacks had not already made it clear, the series opener from MSG showed that this could pay off spectacularly.

“Immediately classic,” said Turner.