First win in the Eastern Conference Final! Nesmith scored 8 three-pointers, Pacers made a big comeback with 17 points overtime, Brunson 43+5

Editor|Lao Kankanqiu

On May 22, the NBA 2024-25 season playoff Eastern Conference Final officially kicked off the first game of G1 in the series. The New York Knicks were at home to face the Indiana Pacers. Interestingly, this is the two teams meeting in the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Last season, in the semi-finals of the East Partition, the two teams fought for seven games. The Pacers beat the Knicks 21 points in the tiebreak battle and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The two teams fought fiercely in three regular season games this season, and the Knicks won two of them, with a slight advantage. Among them, Towns averaged 30.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in these three games, which is an absolute hero.

"Every game is different, we must be prepared for each game." Knicks coach Thibodeau said in an interview, "But the challenge is always the same. Whether it is a game or a series, everything will start over!" Before the game, US media ESPN also gave a prediction of the winning rate of today's game: the Pacers' winning rate is only 47.7%, while the Knicks' winning rate is 52.3%. Obviously, US media is more optimistic that the Knicks can win the first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals. In terms of starting lineup, all players can play on the Knicks side. The starting five-man teams lined up by coach Thibodeau are: Towns, Brunson, Bridges, OG Anunobi, Hart; on the Pacers, Isaiah Jackson is absent, and the starting lineup is: Halliburton, Turner, Nesmith, Sika, and Nembhard.

The first quarter started, and Nembhard took a step back and scored a three-pointer, taking the lead for the Pacers. Brunson flew Nesmith, drifted and accepted two points with a smile. Towns hit Turner with the ball, turned around and forced a hook and hit the board. The two teams hit all the top 7 attacks, and the score difference rose alternately. After Turner made a mid-range jump shot, he could also make a three-pointer. The Pacers made all 8 shots at the beginning and led to 7 points. Brunson made a strong lead and defender in a row, scored 4 points in a row with a layup, and then sent out a high-shot assist. Miro scored a dunk and the Knicks tied the score. McConnell wanted to break through with the ball, Robinson directly intercepted the ball, and Hart counterattacked and re-created a mop foul. After the first quarter, the Knicks overtook the Pacers 36-34 and scored 2 points. In the first quarter, the Pacers' team made a total of 14 of 19 shots, while the Knicks made 15 of 23 shots, and both teams felt very hot.

Back in the second quarter, Matherin forced Penn to play 2+1 under the basket. Towns broke through with the ball and forced a win against Turner. He fell to the ground and made a magical layup. He responded immediately, then stole the interception and sent a wonderful long pass. Anunobi received the ball in the frontcourt and missed the ball in the empty basket. Looking back, he rushed into the basket and faced no one to defend, trying to dunk one arm but dunk the ball away. The two of them were really lying on the dragon and phoenix chicks. Brunson broke through with the ball, and after the confrontation, he scored a high-difficulty throw to 2+1. Towns received the ball at the bottom corner and turned around and made a quick three-pointer. The Knicks led to 8 points and stopped the Pacers. Halliburton made a mid-range shot from the emergency stop, and the Pacers trailed the Knicks 62-69 by 7 points.

Half-court data, on the Knicks side, Brunson played "only" for 17 minutes, made 6 of 11 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 7 free throws to score 18 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists; Bridges played for 23 minutes, scored 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists; Towns made 5 of 7 shots, 3 of 3 three-pointers, and scored 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Pacers, Halliburton made 6 of 11, scoring 14 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists; Siakam made 2 of 6, scoring 6 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 1 steal; Turner made 5 of 8, 1 of 3 three-pointers, scoring 12 points and 3 rebounds.

The most interesting thing is that the first half was smooth and there were no controversial penalty, and all three referees received a high score of 8.1.

The change of sides and then changed sides. Brunson attracted double teams after breaking through, assisted Anunobi to dunk with both hands, Turner played singles with her back at the basket, Bridges quickly completed the steal, and the Knicks led again to 7 points. Turner made a real pass with a fake shot. Siakam received the ball at the basket and completed a dunk with both hands, stopping the bleeding in time. Brunson broke through with the ball, hitting a three-step drop against the defense and responded immediately. Toppin made a three-pointer with a large open space and was blocked by Anunobi. He took the offensive rebound and killed the high-difficulty pull-in at the basket. He made a magical hit. After the three quarters, the Pacers chased to a 3-point difference 87-90.

In the fourth quarter, Brunson made a breakthrough and made a layup with a low hand, scoring 31 points. Anunobi made a strong three-pointer and then scored one and two shots at the basket. The Knicks led to double digits for the first time in this game. Siakam made consecutive shots, Anunobi was able to score in a counterattack fast break, and the Knicks scored a 14-0 attack wave, widening the gap to 17 points. Nesmith scored 6 consecutive three-pointers, Halliburton scored two points in the last attack and almost completed the final defeat. Both sides entered overtime. In overtime, Brunson walked to the free throw line one after another, hit a draw and scored 4 points in a row. The Knicks failed to make a breakthrough in the end. In the end, the Pacers defeated the Knicks 138-135, completed a 17-point comeback, won their first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals, and led 1-0 with a big score. In terms of data, on the Knicks, Brunson made 15 of 25 shots and scored 43 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists; Anunobi made 6 of 15 shots, scoring 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks; Towns scored 35 points, 12 rebounds and 4 fouls; Hart contributed 8 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists.

On the Pacers, Halliburton made 12 of 23 shots, scoring 31 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists and 1 turnover; Siakam scored 17 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists; Nesmith made a contribution, 8 of 9 three-pointers and scored 30 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks; Turner scored 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.