For 27 years, NBA teams held a spotless 970-0 record in the playoffs when leading by at least 14 points with under three minutes remaining. That streak ended on May 21, 2025, in Madison Square Garden, as the New York Knicks endured the worst collapse in postseason history, falling 138-135 in overtime to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks were up 116-102 with fewer than four minutes left in regulation, seemingly cruising to a statement win. Jalen Brunson had delivered another playoff masterpiece with 43 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 35 and 12 boards, anchoring the offense during a pivotal fourth-quarter stretch when Brunson sat with five fouls.
Madison Square Garden was rocking. The Pacers looked outmatched. Then Aaron Nesmith happened.
Nesmith erupted for 20 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter alone, including six three-pointers in a five-minute span. His hot hand sparked a 20-6 Pacers run in the final 2:40. With seconds left, Tyrese Haliburton hit what initially looked like a game-winning three.
Replay revealed his toe was on the line, sending the game to overtime tied at 125. The Pacers kept their foot on the gas in the extra session. Obi Toppin and Andrew Nembhard hit clutch buckets, and Haliburton continued orchestrating with surgical precision.
New York had chances to extend the game, but Towns and Brunson both missed desperation threes. In the blink of an eye, the Knicks lost home-court advantage, their composure, and a game that could haunt them for years.
This collapse is more than a statistical outlier. It’s the first time in NBA playoff history that a team has lost a game after leading by 14 or more in the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter. Teams were previously 970-0 in such situations, the Knicks are now the one.
Teams trailing by 9 or more points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime had a combined record of 0-1,414 in the playoffs since 1998. The Knicks just became the footnote to that infamous stat, marking the first time such a lead was squandered in over a quarter-century of postseason basketball.
Haliburton, who tallied 31 points and 11 assists, waved the Reggie Miller “choke” sign after his game-tying shot, channeling the Pacers legend who once tormented the Knicks in that very arena. Fittingly, Miller was on the call for TNT.
Beyond the emotion and embarrassment, the Knicks must now regroup quickly. Game 2 looms on Friday, and the psychological blow from this meltdown could linger. They wasted near-perfect performances from their stars, couldn’t close out a game in which they led comfortably for 46 minutes, and let a surging Indiana team snatch momentum.
The Pacers, meanwhile, continue to wear the label of the playoffs’ comeback kings with pride. After toppling Milwaukee and Cleveland with late-game heroics, they’ve now made history at MSG. For Indiana, it was another electrifying night in a run full of them. For the Knicks, it was heartbreak and infamy.
