Nesmith & Haliburton guide Pacers to heist of Game 1

Wow, again.

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

The Pacers started 10-of-11 from the floor. The Knicks struggled mightily to keep tabs on all of the motion, and Karl Anthony-Towns in particular was caught up in the mixer. Have to credit the Pacers for being able to rope Jalen Brunson into a Tyrese Haliburton action early that netted a layup for the Pacers. It was elite, elite offensive process. To their credit, the Knicks did a fair enough job scoring on the other side to keep pace to some degree. 9-of-13 from the floor. Towns and Myles Turner exchanged a couple jumpers. Brunson got to spots repeatedly. Josh Hart scored after corralling a loose ball. Knicks hoops. 

24-20 for the Pacers after the first rush of blows. 

Mitchell Robinson checked in and immediately grabbed an offensive rebound. Even after a super aggressive rub/tag from Pascal Siakam and a one-on-one with Turner, he found Mikal Bridges’ miss. Of note: he went to the line and missed both! A couple possessions later, he grabbed another over Obi Toppin. And a third before finding Deuce McBride for three. It’ll be a battleground all series long, but the early stuff helped catapult the Knicks to a 14-5 run that helped them take the lead 36-34. An early chunk of lost minutes for the Pacers vaunted bench, and a fairly poor run of play from T.J. McConnell on both ends of the court, as he was the 3rd member of the gauntlet against Brunson and by far the least effective. 

To start the second though, the bench stuff turned around. They got more opportunities to push pace and saw less of McConnell against a set defense. Brunson was off the floor and the Knicks offense stalled out. A reprieve for the Pacers as they snapped off an 11-5 run. Of course, the Knicks were only ever a couple drives and a triple away from the lead, which they roared back to take with a 7-0 run. Neither team was taking much away. The Knicks 6-of-11 from deep and shooting 60 percent overall. The Pacers at 64 percent themselves. OFFENSE! 

The Knicks extended their lead to eight over the Pacers with a couple triples vs a bit of jackassery. The Knicks hitting their shots, the Pacers missing their layups and dunks. A 13-1 run, all in all. And a four minute drought without a field goal for the Pacers. The worst part of it all? Brunson was sitting the whole time. A disastrous stretch of basketball for the Pacers. They started 9-of-9, and followed it up by shooting 9-of-24. A sign of the dysfunction? The Pacers got an action with Brunson guarding Haliburton and let it fall away to nothing. Star that he is, though? Haliburton had a flurry for himself, a quick burst of 10 points to help the Pacers stay afloat, and it came off of very aggressive shot making - or taking, rather. 

By the end of the first half the Knicks were winning the shot making battle and the possession battle - which meant they were up, of course. 69-62. 

The start of the second half was basically a match of judo between Nesmith and Brunson. Hand-to-hand combat. The Pacers get back into the swing of things with three plays through Siakam: a mismatch against Bridges that he scores out of. A mismatch on Hart where he drags O.G. Anunoby out to double and locates Nembhard in the dunker spot. And a double on Brunson, that leads to a steal and a wide open dunk for #43. Good stretch to calm things down. 

The Pacers simply could not stop Brunson, though. He got to that floater repeatedly and without reprieve. Perfectly knifing through the defense, timing up the help side, and hitting his shots. A push and pull, the Pacers were at arms length for some time. The stars exchanging blows, back and forth. Brunson with 27, Haliburton with 23, and 15 minutes of game time to go. Incredible shot makers. 

Three-point lead for the Knicks headed into the final frame. The Pacers have quietly kept themselves in this thing by riding Haliburton, and getting to some extra possessions. They swung the possession battle to something more manageable.  

A bit against theme but the fourth quarter, Brunson’s greatest stage, began with his fifth foul and a whole lot of Knicks fans feeling anxiety, only for a 5-0 run from Anunoby to take the lead up to 7. Nembhard fouled McBride on a triple to extend the Knicks lead to 9. Siakam had a dunk blocked by McBride. Nesmith fouled Towns for 3 free throws. Then Towns hit a hook shot. Anunoby made a layup in transition. A 14-0 run since Brunson left the game. A 16 point lead overall, 108-92.

Haliburton was mic’d up during the game and he said it best: “we need to dominate the Brunson-less minutes.” Over the course of the game, that was a real failure and a total disaster for the Pacers. In addition to all of this, the Knicks had a tidal wave of extra possessions. Brunson checked back in, and Ben Sheppard got his first shot at him, playing his famously containing defense, but Brunson hit shots over the top. 

The Pacers banged triple after triple to climb back into it, and Brunson held serve, until Nesmith’s absolute tidal wave of six triples brought the Pacers all the way back. It’s hard to put into words, just how incredible, Nesmith’s shot making was. 

And finally, with hardly any time left, Haliburton hit a toe-on-the-line jumper that ballooned 25 feet high before dropping in - as if placed there by God himself. One of the most incredible comebacks I’ve ever witnessed. 

Overtime was easier for the Pacers, because they had seized control of the game, and hunted Brunson with shocking efficiency. They hit shots, and hit shots, and pressured until they got a turnover. Then, they got the game. 

Can’t wait to chat with Caitlin about this one…

I have never covered a team blessed by a higher power.

Have a blessed day. The Pacers certainly did.