The Pacers fell to the Knicks 90-87 to begin the fourth quarter on Wednesday night. With 6:46 left in the game, it swelled to 17 points for New York.
However, Pacer continued to chip away at the lead and never gave up. Tyrese Halliburton hits a miraculous stepback jumper and forces an OT in Game 1. Pacer scored 138-135 in OT. Small forward Aaron Nesmith had the best offensive performance of his postseason career. That included the historic fourth quarter in which he scored 20 points for the Pacers. Nesmith was a clutch for Indiana when he needed a bucket late in Game 1.
Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 30 points in the playoff game
What a night is for Aaron Nesmith
🎯30 points (20 in 4th quarter)
🎯83pm (6 in 4Q)
🎯2blkWhen the lights are brightest, he’s best pic.twitter.com/cbx3q8ned2
-NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2025
In the 2020 NBA Draft, Aaron Nesmith was the Celtics’ 14th overall pick from Vanderbilt. He played two seasons for Boston before trading him for the Pacers. Nesmith has been in Indiana for three seasons. In the beginning of 2024-25, the original first-round pick suffered an ankle injury, causing him to miss the game for 35 consecutive times. Since then, Nesmith has been fully recovered and is a manufacturer of different postseason pacers.
Against the Knicks in the ECF in Game 1, Nesmith fired 3-5 with 10 points to three-quarters. However, the 25-year-old hit another level in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. 20 of his 30 points in Game 1 came in the fourth quarter. Nesmith was 6-7 over the arc and hit two timely three-pointers for the Pacers. With 34 seconds left, Nemsith nailed the back-to-back three, making it a one-man game.
Tyrese Halliburton seam jumpers make headlines, but the team needed all the buckets from Aaron Nesmith in the fourth quarter. He was the Pacers clutch in Game 1 and made the shots when they were most important. Nesmith’s teammates only praised the young sci-fi after Indiana’s 138-135 OT victory. This is the third straight playoff series that the Pacers won Game 1. Twice they were on the road. Aaron Nesmith is the first player to have six three-pointers in the fourth quarter of the NBA playoff game.