This New York Knicks loss is hard to fathom.
They were up 116-102, then 119-105 with less than three minutes to play against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
At that 119-105 lead, ESPN’s win probability gave the Knicks a 99.7% chance to win the game.
They were playing at home in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd. There should’ve been no question as to the outcome.
But then Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith hit six 3-pointers in three minutes. The Knicks missed multiple free throws. And Tyrese Haliburton hit a crazy buzzer beater at the end of regulation.
The crazy part? The Knicks still had a chance after that, because Haliburton’s toe was on the line to make his shot a 2-pointer that only forced overtime.
And in OT, the Knicks went up two baskets midway through.
That lead didn’t hold, either.
MORE: Aaron Nesmith emulates Reggie Miller in MSG 4th-quarter comeback
This stat from the Associated Press sums it up:
“Knicks led by 14 with 2:45 to play in 4th quarter and now are in OT vs Pacers. Teams leading playoff game by 14+ in final 2:45 of 4th quarter are 994-0 in play by play era (since 1997).”
Make that 994-1.
New York was left contemplating a nightmare night in MSG, while the visiting Pacers celebrated yet another insane playoff comeback in a postseason that has been filled with them.
The Knicks spent much of their last round shocking the Celtics with crazy deficits overcome.
Now, though, New York got to feel what the other side is like. And if the postgame silence in MSG was any indication, it’s not something Knicks fans will want to get used to.
Shell shocked might be the words. How else do you react to one of the worst losses in franchise history?
MORE: Tyrese Haliburton hits a crazy buzzer beater to force OT
