The Pacers’ act of faith at Madison was truly memorable. They went into the final stretch of the fourth quarter 17 points down (111-94, with 6:22 to go). Any other team would have thrown in the towel thinking about saving their strength for the second game of this Western Conference final, which will be played on Friday night (2.30am). But they didn’t even think about that idea.
They persevered against all odds, coming back from 14 points down with 2:51 minutes to go and seven points down with 40 seconds to go, and did not stop until they forced overtime in what was as close to a miracle as it gets. “We’ve played a lot of games where it seemed like the other team was in control. But it’s not over until it’s over, until you get to zero,” said Haliburton, who scored 31 points and 11 assists.
We’ve played a lot of games where it looked like the other team was in control. But it’s not over until it’s over, until you get to zero
It was not the first time the Pacers had staged a comeback this season. Already in the first round of these playoffs, they defeated the Bucks when they were down by seven points with 40 seconds left in overtime. They then won a second-round game against the Cavaliers when they were down by seven points with 46 seconds left. They have become specialists in the impossible.
“It’s always special. It’s always fun,” said Aaron Nesmith, the Pacers’ hero after leading his team’s brutal fourth-quarter comeback by scoring 20 of his 30 points and five of his eight three-pointers (8/9 3-pointers) in those decisive moments. “This is what we live for,” he said.
It’s always special and it’s always fun. This is what we live for
The word miracle is not a recurring topic in this case, since since the NBA began keeping play-by-play records 28 years ago, in the 1997-98 season, teams that reached the last 2:45 of the fourth quarter with at least a 14-point lead had a record of 994-0. The Pacers, who trailed by 14 with 2:51 remaining, are the first team to come back from such a deficit in league history.
And two other records that highlight the Pacers’ achievement after this victory, something unusual and that they have made almost commonplace: They have four 17-point comebacks in these playoffs, the most by any team since play-by-play records began. And three comebacks from 7 points down in the last minute in these playoffs (only 4 times has this happened in history since all actions have been recorded)
You have to give them credit. They closed out the game like they have done in every playoff game. We just didn’t do well
Jalen Brunson scored 43 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 35 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who were unable to protect the wide lead they had. The point guard had no words to express the collapse his team suffered in the final quarter. “You have to give them credit. They closed out the game like they have in every playoff game,” Brunson said. “We just didn’t do it right.”
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