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The Sportsletter (5/22/25)

The Sportsletter (5/22/25)

Hali's Heroics, Nesmith's Spree Lift Hicks Over Knicks in NBA Game of the Year

May 22, 2025

Yes ‘Cers! 🙌

I wasn’t planning to send another edition until Friday, but the Indiana Pacers (nay, MY Indiana Pacers) just did the unthinkable once again. That was the game of the year in the NBA. In case you missed it, allow me…

*Today’s edition is extra short due to the last-minute adjustment.

✉️ Special Edition: Friday (May 23)

Letter Rip!

< NBA PLAYOFFS >

Game 1: Yes ‘Cers! 🤯

Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images

Pacers Erase 17-Point 4Q Deficit on Haliburton’s Hero Shot, Stun Knicks in Game 1 Thriller at the Garden (138-135, OT)

I need an IV or something. What did I just witness?!

Look, I’m biased. I rarely write pieces like this, but I’m a guy from Indiana who used to write for the Pacers and the Fever. I had the night off, so consider this some overtime content (literally). A freebie!

This moment?

On the brink of Indy 500 weekend?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Game 1 of Pacers-Knicks was bound to bring up memories. I talked about ‘em in yesterday’s edition — the famous 8 points in 9 seconds and Reggie Miller’s choke celebration in the face of Spike Lee. Rivalry? Sure. But it’s been dormant for most of my lifetime (since the 90s). Last night reignited the flame.

Game 1 at the Garden (As It Happened)

The Knicks went on a 15-0 run in the 4th quarter.
New York led by 17 (111-94) with 7 minutes left.
Aaron Nesmith went nuclear (six 3s in 5 minutes).
Tyrese Haliburton… No *bleepin’* way.

The Pacers clawed back from down 17 to pull within two (125-123) when Haliburton hit a step-back miracle *game-winner* that bounced off the back of the rim, up 20 feet in the air, and in. Ball game! A stunner.

Hali hit the choke celebration and pointed at Reggie Miller on the sideline. Iconic. Incredible. Timeless. We would be seeing this shot on highlight reels for eternity.

But wait?… His toe was on the line. An all-time “too-soon” celly actually segued to overtime at 125-all. Could a premature chokehold, in the face of Madison Square Garden’s elite, haunt Haliburton?

OT was madness — Eight lead changes in the final 2:12. Indiana pulled it out (138-135, OT) after two missed 3s by the Knicks on the final possession. And that celly-too-early can live on forever. Goodness. That was just Game 1?

Fun Fact (1): The Pacers have four 15-point comebacks this postseason. That’s tied for the most in a single playoff run (2003 Dallas Mavericks).
Fun Fact (2): No team in the last 20 years had won a road playoff game after being down 14+ with less than 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

I’ll let the highlights do the talking.

Hicks over Knicks (I’ll own it). Nothing better than us corn-fed Midwesterners going toe-to-toe with New York’s courtside celebrities. Bring it on. (If you’re a mad New Yorker, just wait ‘til tomorrow.)

Game of the year. ⬇️

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