By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Channeling franchise legend Reggie Miller and his famous reaction opposite Spike Lee in 1994, Tyrese Haliburton celebrated a clutch bucket with a choke signal to the crowd in Madison Square Garden. He thought he sealed a win, but upon video review, his long jumper at the buzzer instead forced overtime. The Indiana Pacers went on to prevail, 138-135.
The hosts led by 14 points with under three minutes left in the fourth quarter, but ended up in a 1-0 deficit, to start a best-of-seven series of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs presented by Google.
“They made shots, we didn’t. We made some mistakes, missing free throws,” British O.G. Anunoby talked about the late rally of the Pacers, in a postgame media session following a wild Game 1.
The 27-year-old winger logged 41 minutes on Wednesday, tallying 16 points, three blocks, three steals, three rebounds, and two assists. Other European options for head coach Tom Thibodeau, French Pacome Dadiet and German Ariel Hukporti did not play.
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 43 points and Karl-Anthony Towns followed with 35 points, but fell shy of a win. For the Pacers, Haliburton finished with 31 points, and Aaron Nesmith chipped in 30 points.
Staying in New York for Game 2, the series resumes on Friday.
“Just be a resilient team. It’s just one game. The series just started,” pointed out Anunoby, “Just watch the film, learn from it, and go from there.”
2025 NBA Playoffs presented by Google
Conference Quarterfinals (best of seven)
East
Cleveland Cavaliers – Miami Heat 4-0 (121-100, 121-112, 124-87, 138-83)
Boston Celtics – Orlando Magic 4-1 (103-86, 109-100, 93-95, 107-98, 120-89)
New York Knicks – Detroit Pistons 4-2 (123-112, 94-100, 118-116, 94-93, 103-106, 116-113)
Indiana Pacers – Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 (117-98, 123-115, 101-117, 129-103, 119-118)
West
Oklahoma City Thunder – Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 (131-80, 118-99, 114-108, 117-115)
Houston Rockets – Golden State Warriors 3-4 (85-95, 109-94, 93-104, 106-109, 131-116, 115-107, 89-103)
Los Angeles Lakers – Minnesota Timberwolves 1-4 (95-117, 94-85, 104-116, 113-116, 96-103)
Denver Nuggets – Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 (112-110, 102-105, 83-117, 101-99, 131-115, 105-111, 120-101)
Conference Semifinals (best of seven)
East
Cleveland Cavaliers – Indiana Pacers 1-4 (112-121, 119-120, 126-104, 109-129, 105-114)
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks 2-4 (105-108, 90-91, 115-93, 113-121, 127-102, 81-119)
West
Oklahoma City Thunder – Denver Nuggets 4-3 (119-121, 149-106, 104-113, 92-87, 112-105, 107-119, 125-93)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Golden State Warriors 4-1 (88-99, 117-93, 102-97, 117-110, 121-110)
Conference Finals (best of seven)
East
New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers 0-1 (135-138)
West
Oklahoma City Thunder – Minnesota Timberwolves 1-0 (114-88)
NBA Finals (best of seven)
Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions