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.

In a disaster of epic proportions, the Knicks squandered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 1 and are the first team in NBA playoff history to blow a lead of 14 or more points with 2:45 remaining. Teams were previously 994-0 in the playoffs, but the Knicks’ collapse didn’t come from nowhere.

Jalen Brunson had just tied Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing's franchise record by reaching 30 points in the playoffs for the 18th time with the New York Knicks. Then the Knicks hit the Indiana Pacers with a 14-0 run after Brunson had to go to the bench early in the fourth quarter Wednesday night after picking up his fifth foul,

New York's infamous backpages have all drawn the parallel between what Tyrese Haliburton did and what Reggie Miller did 30 years ago.

After three so-so seasons in New York stuck behind since-traded All-Star power forward Julius Randle, he was dealt to Indiana in 2023 for two future second-round picks.

"He got too much air space," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Nesmith after the game.