A comprehensive list of everything that had to go wrong to lose Game 1

The Knicks had the win if any of these things didn’t happen.

Well, that sucked.

Few losses just leave you utterly bewildered, like what happened last night. As a Yankee fan, I unfortunately saw one of those in the World Series last year. This isn’t the first rodeo for the Knicks, either.

They blew a nine-point lead in 35 seconds to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in December 2022. They blew a six-point lead with 25 seconds left to Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers in Game 5 last year. This was somehow worse than both.

First blown 9+ point lead in the final minute in playoff history. First blown 14+ point lead with under 3 minutes left. First blown 15+ point second-half lead by the Knicks in any game since April 2023 (also against Indiana).

The number of things that had to go catastrophically wrong to lose this game was incredible. You can take it in stride that the Knicks were the better team and needed a one-in-a-million collapse to lose, or you can be utterly devastated, as most are. That’s up to you.

I wouldn’t want to read this either, so I don’t blame you if you don’t want to relive that, but as part of the “flush it” mentality that the Knicks need to still win this series, I’m going through it anyway.

Aaron F****** Nesmith

Baseball fans, especially AL East ones, know how the words “Bucky f-cking Dent” and “Aaron f-cking Boone” are symbolic of two of the biggest swings in the history of The Rivalry, both go-ahead bombs to eliminate the Red Sox in the postseason that were similarly crushing during the Curse of the Bambino. Unfortunately, if the Knicks lose this series, Aaron Nesmith will likely join such infamy.

Nesmith went 8-for-9 from three in this game, including six in the fourth quarter. As much as the Knicks played some dreadful perimeter defense down the stretch, sometimes guys just can’t miss. It’s truly incredible, too, because it came out of absolutely nowhere. He’s the first player in NBA history to make six threes in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. He hit five in less than three minutes!!!

Hart slipped, but this is still a heat check. If Nesmith misses one of these threes (or Haliburton misses, we’ll get to that), the game is over. It was the hot streak of all hot streaks.

OG’s Turnover Under The Basket

This one is two-fold. The Knicks should’ve held the ball and forced Indiana to foul with under 40 seconds left and down by 5, but Brunson found OG for a wide open dunk… until he just dropped the ball.

It’s a terrible, miserable mistake, but what I don’t understand is: How was this overturned from a loose ball foul?

Sure, it’s clean on the ball. But Siakam is clearly pushing Anunoby with his left arm while going for the ball, as well as grabbing his jersey on the way down. Is this not still a loose ball foul?

If OG catches that and either dunks it or draws a foul, it’s a 6 or 7 point game with 30 seconds left. Come on.

Karl-Anthony Towns misses a free throw

KAT missed a free throw with 14 seconds left. If he made it, the Knicks either foul up 4 (much better situation) or force Indiana to make a seventh three-pointer. Towns is an 83% FT shooter.

Aaron Nesmith is out of bounds

This is bang-bang so it’s really nothing. Anunoby doesn’t let the scorching hot Nesmith shoot a potential game-tying three and fouls with 12 seconds left, but it appeared Nesmith touched the end line at the same time. It’s not reviewable, even if NYK still had a challenge, but what if the ref saw it first?

OG Anunoby misses a free throw

Anunoby made a lot of bad plays late. I mean, what was he doing on defense when Nesmith was making everything?

His worst one was missing a free throw here. With just seven seconds remaining, the Knicks are firmly in the driver’s seat with a make.

With two makes, it’s a three-point game. The Knicks would foul a Pacers team going 94 feet and would likely secure the rebound on an assumed intentional miss. I mean, KAT-Mitch lineups had a 72 REB%.

Tyrese Haliburton’s Improbable Make

I don’t know what to say about this. I’ve seen, occasionally, shots take bounces like these. I have never, ever, ever seen a shot like this go in to tie or win a game, especially a damn playoff game. Kawhi’s game-winner in 2019 was close, but it didn’t bounce this damn high and swish. Not to mention, he nearly lost the ball before this.

The odds of Haliburton clanking this off the back rim, it bouncing 20 feet in the air, and perfectly swishing through the rim is extremely improbable. Maybe somebody smarter than me can actually calculate how improbable it was scientifically. Holy hell.

The Missed Goaltending

All of what I just said was the Knicks’ fault, mostly. Defend better. Execute better. Make shots. This is out of their control.

The biggest sin imaginable from an official is getting a call wrong that cannot be overturned via review, an open floor no-call.

In late game scenarios, all called goaltends are reviewable. However, a no-call is not reviewable or challengeable. If there’s even a chance you think this is goaltending, you have to call it. The Knicks would’ve gone up by six with all the momentum, likely forcing an Indiana timeout, with three minutes left. Instead, the no-call led to an open transition three by Andrew Nembhard, which is out of the Knicks’ control due to the natural momentum of the play leading to numbers the other way.

Now, Indiana clearly can come back from this. That said, a five-point swing in a game that came down to the final possession is inexcusable work from Zach Zarba and company.

All of this, unfortunately, means nothing. There’s no going back and the Pacers have a 1-0 series lead. It’s up to the Knicks, and only the Knicks, to make this something we laugh about down the road, just like the Maxey game.