The Eastern Conference Finals series between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers was already an ode to basketball history before it even began.
And then came Game 1. What Aaron Nesmith and Tyrese Haliburton did on Wednesday night, leading the Pacers on a torrid 14-point comeback in the final 3:14 of regulation, was simply historic. It felt like a conglomerate of several great moments in NBA history and in this rivalry in particular.
History Repeats Itself
Nesmith’s 20-point barrage in the final five minutes of regulation that brought the Pacers back from the dead immediately goes down as one of the great rapid-fire scoring performances in playoff history. Of course, Nesmith invoked the spirit of 1995 Reggie Miller, who famously scored eight points in nine seconds to stun the Knicks in Game 1 of those Eastern Conference Finals.
While the brevity of Nesmith’s outburst initially invoked the spirit of a prime Miller, Halliburton’s game-tying buzzer-beater made it feel like the franchise legend was exerting a supernatural influence from the announcers’ table.
As Haliburton ran down the court doing Reggie’s signature choking sign from that performance in ‘95, Miller looked on with a sly smile that resembled the look of a man who knew his deal with the devil was still good.
Déjà Vu
Haliburton’s buzzer-beater wasn’t just a call back to Miller’s theatrics in ‘95, however.
When Haliburton pulled out the choke sign, he thought he had made a game-winning 3-pointer to win Game 1 right there.
But like Kevin Durant in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Haliburton’s toe was on the 3-point line and the Pacers had to complete the comeback in overtime. Fortunately, Indiana had a better outcome than Brooklyn and Durant, who of course, lost to the eventual champion Bucks as a result of that line-stepping.
“In the moment, I wasn’t like plotting on it or anything,” Haliburton said. “Everybody wanted me to do it last year at some different point, but it’s got to feel right and it felt right at the time. If I had known it was a two, I would not have done it. I think I might have wasted it, if I do it again then people might say I’m aura farming.”
And like Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beater in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Haliburton’s fateful shot bounced off the rim and into the air for what felt like an eternity before splashing into the hoop.
It’s hard not to believe in the basketball Gods when coincidences start to line up like that, especially in a series we had already expected to deliver on upon nostalgia.
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is scheduled for Friday at 8 pm ET from Madison Square Garden.
