The Best Playoff Game.. Ever?

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals can only be described as an instant classic. The Indiana Pacers stormed back in the final minutes against the New York Knicks, at MSG, and pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks I can remember. If you've been watching the Pacers this playoffs, you know they've been no stranger to come-from-behind victories, but Game 1 took that to another level.

Before you even get into the specifics of what happened in this game, just looking at a box score you can already see the signs of an elite playoff game. Jalen Brunson's 43 points on 15/25 shooting and KAT's 35 & 12 on 11/17, 4/8 3pt shooting gets overshadowed in the 138-135 OT loss. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 31 points and 11 assists, while Aaron Nesmith will be a Pacer legend (if they win the series) for his outrageous shooting display -- 30 points on 8/9 3 pt shooting -- 6 of which came in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

It was a tight game throughout, but in the 4th quarter it started to look like the Knicks were breaking away. And it came at a shocking point of the game -- when Jalen Brunson was on the bench. NYK went on a 14-0 run with Brunson out to really gain control with a 111-94 lead with just 6:26 to play. Aaron Nesmith re-entered the game and knocked down his 3rd 3-pointer with 4:45 remaining. The Knicks kept Indy at arms-length until Nesmith cut the lead to 8 with 2 minutes remaining with another bomb.

Jalen Brunson made a layup with just under a minute left in the game to put NY up 9, but Aaron Nesmith came back down and drilled another 3 to cut it to 6. KAT got a layup back on the other end, Nesmith knocks down ANOTHER from 30-feet to cut it to 5. A successful Carlisle challenge put the ball back in their hands, and who else but Nesmith puts Indy within 2 with his 6th triple in less than 4 minutes. KAT goes 1/2 at the stripe, then Nesmith makes 2 with 7 seconds remaining to make it 124-123. Indy fouls OG Anunoby, who misses the front end but sinks the second, 125-123. Pacers get one last possession and put it in Hali's hands -- a good recipe in the 25' Playoffs. After scrambling around in the paint, he retreats to the 3-point line, heaves a step-back as time expires, back-rim bounce into the rafters, and eventually, falling through the net. BALL GAME -- right?

Wrong -- unfortunately for Haliburton, who did the Reggie Miller choke celly IMMEDIATELY after hitting the shot -- his foot was on the line. Overtime! Imagining celebrating that hard just to have your shot changed to a 2 would have had me in shambles -- the fear of becoming a meme would be too much. But credit to Hali, he stepped right back in ready for OT.

Overtime in Game 1 was exactly what I want from any OT game -- back-and-forth action with no team gaining a massive advantage. The Knicks struck 1st and 2nd, taking a 4-point lead before Andrew Nembhard drilled a triple. Then Nembhard got a layup to fall to give Indy a 1-point lead. Brunson bookended a Haliburton layup with 4 FT's to put NY up 1, but Obi Toppin threw down a vicious putback dunk to give Indy momentum. A Brunson floater followed by a Nembhard layup kept IND up 1, then they won a challenge with 20 seconds left to get the ball back. Obi Toppin once again throws down a massive driving dunk -- one that 100% should've been an And-1 -- to make it 138-135, the final bucket to an incredible game and the exclamation point on one of the greatest comebacks you'll ever see.

Game 2 is tonight at MSG, and I truly have no idea what to expect. I have a hard time believing a team can bounce back from such a tragic loss on their homecourt, but the Knicks are an extremely resilient group. Brunson is a Super Star that scores 30 points without blinking, KAT played incredible, their wings will have a better approach defensively, and I'd expect them to shoot it better in Game 2.

But the Pacers have MAJOR Team-of-Destiny vibes right now. They've been on the brink of loss not once (Bucks - down 7 with 34 seconds in a closeout game), not twice (Cavs - down 7 with 46 seconds left Game 2), but 3 times in these Playoffs. I saw a stat that Haliburton is 11/12 on shots to tie or take the lead in the last 2 minutes of a game this season. That stat may as well just say "Tyrese Haliburton is a fucking assassin." And they've had different guys step up in support multiple times this postseason -- Nesmith, Myles Turner, Nembhard, Pascal Siakam. So I don't know if I could pick against Indy and feel good about it, even in a potential let-down spot.

All I know is you better get your popcorn and a blanket, find the comfiest spot on your couch, and get seated at 7:00 pm Central Time, because 90% of the Pacers' games in these playoffs have been absolutely electric.

Oh, and in other news, the Thunder took a 2-0 lead last night in the Western Conference Playoffs over ANT and the T-Wolves. And it's been a lot of fun seeing the casuals that haven't watched SGA all year like me get pissed off about the "foul-baiting" and free throw attempts he's getting. My take on the situation is, cry all you want, but it's not even close to the worst foul-baiting I've seen between the Joel Embiid's, James Harden's of the world, so quit your bitching and score more points if you want to win .