Game ID: 42400301
Indiana Pacers @ New York Knicks
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
NYK 36 33 21 35 10 135IND 34 28 25 38 13 138
IND @ NYK ScoutingIND @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 5/10 · 2 days' restOUT Tucker missed 8 since 4/19, out tonight
OUT Wright missed 8 since 4/19, returns tonight: 3 min (22% of 14)
OUT Shamet missed 4 since 4/29, returns tonight: 3 min (22% of 14)
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 5 min since (28% of 18)
NEW Bridges 37 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/12 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 9 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 6 min since (30% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/10 after 8, 3 min since (22% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 14)
NEW Bridges 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/14 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 10 since 4/19, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 4 min since (21% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/10 after 8, 3 min since (22% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 3 min since (22% of 14)
NEW Bridges 37 to 44 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/16 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 11 since 4/19, returns tonight: 4 min (28% of 16)
OUT Wright missed 2 since 5/12, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/05 after 6, 4 min since (20% of 18)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 3 min since (21% of 14)
NEW Bridges 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NYK availability going into 5/21 · 4 days' restOUT Wright missed 3 since 5/12, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 14)
BACK Tucker back 5/16 after 11, 4 min since (28% of 16)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 4 min since (26% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restBACK Tucker back 5/16 after 11, 4 min since (28% of 16)
BACK Wright back 5/10 after 8, 2 min since (13% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/10 after 4, 4 min since (26% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Achiuwa missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Tucker missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Shamet missed 2 since 5/21, returns tonight: 11 min (83% of 14)
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 0 min since (3% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/27 · 1 day's restOUT Achiuwa missed 3 since 5/21, returns tonight: 2 min (13% of 18)
OUT Tucker missed 3 since 5/21, out tonight
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 7 min since (49% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/25 after 2, 11 min since (83% of 14)
NYK availability going into 5/29 · 1 day's restOUT Tucker missed 4 since 5/21, out tonight
OUT Payne missed 2 since 5/25, out tonight
BACK Achiuwa back 5/27 after 3, 2 min since (13% of 18)
BACK Wright back 5/21 after 3, 8 min since (55% of 14)
BACK Shamet back 5/25 after 2, 11 min since (82% of 14)
IND availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 82 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 13 min since (70% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/09 · 2 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 83 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Sheppard back 4/25 after 7, 11 min since (63% of 18)
IND availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 84 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 85 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/21 · 7 days' restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 86 since 11/04, out tonight
IND availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 87 since 11/04, out tonight
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 88 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 2 since 5/21, out tonight
NEW Nesmith 26 to 32 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/27 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 89 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 3 since 5/21, out tonight
NEW Nembhard 30 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Nesmith 26 to 31 min over the last 5
IND availability going into 5/29 · 1 day's restOUT Isa. Jackson missed 90 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Walker missed 4 since 5/21, returns tonight: 13 min (88% of 15)
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 5/25, returns tonight: 5 min (37% of 13)
NEW Nembhard 30 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Nesmith 26 to 33 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Towns at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 4 days' rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Siakam at 18 and Haliburton at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (86 straight). 7 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 42 percent from three to New York's 33 and the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-4. Call it New York 113, Indiana 112, Indiana keeping it close.
5/10 vs BOS 93-115 — NYK notes
NYK lost 93-115. NYK shot 40% (32 of 80) to BOS's 48%, 5 of 25 from three, and went to the line 35 times to BOS's 17 — 24 points from the stripe to their 15. Brunson led with 27 (9 of 21, 3 of 8 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Towns added 21, Bridges 12. Q4 was theirs, 23-19, the deficit cut from 26 to 22, but the other 3 periods went 96-70 against them. Anunoby's -25 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/12 vs BOS 121-113 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-113. NYK shot 54% (50 of 92) to BOS's 48%, 12 of 34 from three, and got to the line 12 times to BOS's 26. The glass went 43-31 for them. Brunson led with 39 (14 of 25, 4 of 8 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Bridges added 23, Towns 23. The hinge was Q3, 37-23: NYK came in trailing by 11 and left it ahead by 3. NYK trailed 51-62 at the half and won the second half 70-51. Bridges was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
5/14 @ BOS 102-127 — NYK notes
NYK lost 102-127. NYK shot 36% (29 of 81) to BOS's 52%, 12 of 30 from three, and went to the line 40 times to BOS's 26 — 32 points from the stripe to their 17. Hart led with 24 (7 of 15, 5 of 9 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Brunson added 22, Towns 19. Q1 was theirs, 32-30, but the other 3 periods went 97-70 against them. Bridges's -25 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/16 vs BOS 119-81 — NYK notes
NYK won 119-81. NYK shot 46% (42 of 91) to BOS's 36%, 16 of 45 from three, and went to the line 21 times to BOS's 10 — 19 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 55-36 for them. Anunoby led with 23 (7 of 18, 4 of 13 from three); Brunson added 23, Bridges 22. The hinge was Q2, 38-17: a lead of 6 became 27, and the lead reached 41. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
5/21 vs IND 135-138 — NYK notes
NYK lost 135-138 in 1 overtime. NYK shot 51% (48 of 94) to IND's 51%, 11 of 34 from three, and went to the line 40 times to IND's 28 — 28 points from the stripe to their 21. NYK turned it over 15 times to IND's 7. Brunson led with 43 (15 of 25, 1 of 6 from three, 12 of 14 at the line); Towns added 35, Bridges 16. Q2 was theirs, 33-28, but the other 4 periods went 110-102 against them. They led by as many as 17. Bridges's -15 in 46 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/23 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 19 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (87 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-7 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Indiana at 39 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it New York 117, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
5/25 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (88 straight), Walker (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Achiuwa (2 straight), Tucker (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-7 and the arc, Indiana at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Indiana 117, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
5/27 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 21 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (89 straight), Walker (3 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Achiuwa (3 straight), Tucker (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-3 and the line, where New York takes 30 free throws a game to Indiana's 25. Call it Indiana 116, New York 113, New York keeping it close.
5/29 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Tucker (4 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Siakam at 25 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (90 straight), Walker (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the turnovers, New York giving it away 14 times a game to Indiana's 11. Call it New York 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
5/06 @ CLE 120-119 — IND notes
IND won 120-119. IND shot 52% (44 of 85) to CLE's 43%, 11 of 28 from three, and got to the line 29 times to CLE's 35. Turner led with 23 (8 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Nesmith added 23, Haliburton 19. The hinge was Q4, 36-21: IND came in trailing by 14 and left it ahead by 1. IND trailed 50-61 at the half and won the second half 70-58. Turner was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
5/09 vs CLE 104-126 — IND notes
IND lost 104-126. IND shot 44% (35 of 80) to CLE's 42%, 9 of 30 from three. The glass went 37-56 against them. Mathurin led with 23 (6 of 11, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Siakam added 18, Turner 15. Q3 was theirs, 34-31, the deficit cut from 21 to 18, but the other 3 periods went 95-70 against them. Nembhard's -32 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 vs CLE 129-109 — IND notes
IND won 129-109. IND shot 53% (49 of 93) to CLE's 43%, 15 of 35 from three, and got to the line 20 times to CLE's 40. IND turned it over 10 times to CLE's 22. Siakam led with 21 (9 of 10); Turner added 20, Toppin 20. The hinge was Q2, 42-16: a lead of 15 became 41, and the lead reached 44. Siakam was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
5/13 @ CLE 114-105 — IND notes
IND won 114-105. IND shot 50% (41 of 82) to CLE's 39%, 15 of 35 from three, and got to the line 22 times to CLE's 37. Haliburton led with 31 (10 of 15, 6 of 10 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Siakam added 21, Nembhard 18. The hinge was Q3, 33-20: IND came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 9. IND trailed 52-56 at the half and won the second half 62-49. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
5/21 @ NYK 138-135 — IND notes
IND won 138-135 in 1 overtime. IND shot 51% (51 of 100) to NYK's 51%, 15 of 37 from three, and got to the line 28 times to NYK's 40. IND turned it over 7 times to NYK's 15. Haliburton led with 31 (12 of 23, 4 of 12 from three); Nesmith added 30, Siakam 17. The hinge was Q3, 25-21: the deficit went from 7 to 3. IND trailed 62-69 at the half and won the second half 76-66. Haliburton was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
5/23 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 19 and Siakam at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (87 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-7 a night and Indiana minus-6 and the arc, Indiana at 39 percent from three to New York's 33. Call it New York 117, Indiana 115, Indiana keeping it close.
5/25 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (88 straight), Walker (2 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 33 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Achiuwa (2 straight), Tucker (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-7 and the arc, Indiana at 40 percent from three to New York's 35. Call it Indiana 117, New York 115, New York keeping it close.
5/27 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Siakam at 23 and Haliburton at 21 a game. Without Isa. Jackson (89 straight), Walker (3 straight). One day's rest. New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 29 and Towns at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Achiuwa (3 straight), Tucker (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-5 a night and Indiana minus-3 and the line, where New York takes 30 free throws a game to Indiana's 25. Call it Indiana 116, New York 113, New York keeping it close.
5/29 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 30 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Towns at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Tucker (4 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Siakam at 25 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Isa. Jackson (90 straight), Walker (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Indiana minus-4 and the turnovers, New York giving it away 14 times a game to Indiana's 11. Call it New York 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TB T. Bryant
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
NYKCP C. Payne
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
IND/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Pacers tie it on Haliburton's jumper at buzzer, then beat Knicks 138-135 in OT of East finals Game 1
NEW YORK -- — Tyrese Haliburton was sure his jumper as regulation ended was going in, then wasn't certain it had after it bounced high off the rim and hung in the air for what felt like an eternity.
He thought it was a 3-pointer to win the game, then quickly realized it was a 2 to tie. A lot to process, followed by just one thought with overtime looming.
“Then my focus just became winning it,” Haliburton said.
The Pacers did, finishing off their stunning rally by beating the New York Knicks 138-135 in overtime Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks led by 14 points with under three minutes remaining in regulation, but Aaron Nesmith brought the Pacers back with a flurry of 3-pointers.
Haliburton then hoped he had won it with another. With the Pacers down two and time running down, he started to lose control of his dribble, regained it and dribbled back out toward the 3-point line. He fired up his jumper and when it finally fell in, he raced toward the sideline and made a choke signal to the crowd , like Pacers Hall of Famer Reggie Miller did to Spike Lee while leading an Indiana comeback in a playoff game in 1994.
Replay confirmed that Haliburton's toe was on the line and it was a 2-pointer that tied it at 125. Andrew Nembhard eventually made the go-ahead basket with 26 seconds remaining in OT.
Game 2 is Friday night.
Haliburton had 31 points and 11 assists. Nesmith finished with 30 points, going 8 for 9 from 3-point range.
The Pacers won a game against Milwaukee in the first round when they trailed by seven points with 40 seconds left in overtime, then stole one from top-seeded Cleveland when they were behind by seven with 46 seconds remaining in regulation.
Another round, another comeback.
“It’s always special. It’s always fun,” Nesmith said. “This is what we live for.”
It was a thrilling start to the ninth playoff matchup between these fierce rivals from the 1990s — but a deflating finish for the Knicks in their first Eastern Conference finals game since 2000.
Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 12 rebounds. But the Knicks couldn’t protect the big lead they built while Brunson was on the bench in foul trouble in the fourth quarter and had a collapse unlike any other in the postseason.
Teams leading by at least 14 points in the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter had been 994-0 since detailed play-by-play began being kept in 1997-98.
“Give them a lot of credit. They closed the game out like they’ve been doing all playoffs,” Brunson said. “Just not really good on our part.”
The Pacers beat the Knicks in Game 7 of the East semifinals at Madison Square Garden last year, routing a team that had been decimated by injuries.
This was an entirely different way to win, with the Pacers looking all but out of the game after the Knicks' 14-0 run with Brunson on the bench pushed New York's two-point lead to 108-92.
Even after Nesmith started to get hot, the Knicks seemed safe when Brunson's 3-pointer made it 119-105 with 2:51 to go. But Nesmith would later hit consecutive 3s and both free throws when the Knicks fouled him intentionally so he couldn't try to tie it with another, giving Indiana the chance to tie on Haliburton's shot.