Another day, another Pacers' come-from-behind miracle

They were down 14 points with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. And then Aaron Nesmith happened.

We’ve seen the unlikely, heroic comebacks, the ones against Milwaukee and Cleveland and heaven-knows-who-else these last few weeks of the regular season and post-season, but this one, well, it was impossible. This time, the Pacers were 14 points behind with 2 ½ minutes left, the Madison Square Garden crowd apoplectic, the Knicks poised to take a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Shoot, the Knicks went on a 17-6 run and extended their lead while Jalen Brunson was sitting on the bench, trying to buy time with five fouls. I mean, this was a night when the Knicks’ thin bench actually out-played the Pacers’ vaunted second unit. Everything was looking bleak for the Pacers, who had no reason to believe they still had a chance to steal this game.

And then they did.

Or better yet, Aaron Nesmith did, going bananas, hitting five straight threes, including a couple of heat checks from deep. From the wing. From straightaway. With hands in his face and with nobody near him. Singlehandedly, Nesmith, who will remain a perpetual hero in Indiana for what he pulled off Wednesday night, put the Pacers’ hopes on his broad back and carried the team across the finish line.

And don’t forget Tyrese Haliburton, who played a marvelous, aggressive game, hitting the bounce-bounce-bouncing prayer to tie the game in overtime. Turned out his “choke” celly was a little premature, but no harm, no foul. Call it foreshadowing. The Pacers, 138-135 overtime winners over the Knicks, seized control late in overtime, and now the Knicks are in very deep trouble. At this point, they’ve got to be thinking, “What’s it take to put these SOB’s away?”