Knicks choke away lead in final minutes as Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton stunningly steal Game 1

The Charles Smith Memorial.Reggie Miller’s eight points in eight seconds. This goes right up there among the greatest Knicks playoff collapses of all time, made worse that they had an extra five minutes and couldn’t get it done. A 17-point fourth-quarter lead was wasted.

A promising start in the Eastern Conference finals became disastrous. The Pacers stole Game 1 by reeling off 23 points in the final 3:14 of regulation and outlasting the Knicks 138-135 in overtime in front of a stunned Garden crowd. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson missed potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds and the Knicks now trail in a postseason series for the first time this spring.They scored the first four points of the extra session, but were outscored 13-6 the rest of the way.

It all began to go wrong when Brunson was blocked in transition, leading to an Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer that sliced the Knicks lead to one. Brunson had 43 points in defeat and Towns added 35.Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 for the Pacers.

Game 2 is Friday night back at the Garden. The Knicks blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, and a 14-point edge with 2:51 to go.Aaron Nesmith went wild, hitting five 3-pointers.

Towns and OG Anunoby missed killer free throws in the final 14.3 seconds.It looked like the Pacers had won it, when Haliburton hit a 3-pointer that bounced off the back rim and dropped in.

Indiana celebrated like it was a game-winner, but Haliburton’s toe was on the line for a 2-pointer, sending the game to overtime. The opening minutes felt similar to the Celtics series, when the Knicks were almost always playing from behind.The Pacers scored on their first eight offensive possessions, made their first nine shots and led by as many as seven in the early going. But while the Knicks weren’t getting stops in the opening quarter, neither were the Pacers.

Mikal Bridges started fast, scoring eight points in the period, and the Knicks outscored Indiana 14-5 over the final 2:34 o...