May 21, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) controls the ball against New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) in the third quarter during game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Ex-NBA Star Wildly Reacts To Pacers-Knicks Game 1

Originally posted on Memphis Grizzlies on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated May 22, 2025 1:04 AM ET

The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are facing off in the Eastern Conference Finals for a highly anticipated series, and to say Game 1 lived up to the hype would be an understatement.

In possibly the best game of the 2025 NBA playoffs so far, the Pacers erased a nine-point deficit with just 51 seconds remaining, carried by a 20-point fourth-quarter explosion from Aaron Nesmith, but capped off by an insane game-tying buzzer-beater from Tyrese Haliburton to force overtime.

The Pacers ultimately pulled out a clutch overtime win to shut down Madison Square Garden and take a commanding 1-0 series lead.

Directly after the game, three-time NBA All-Star and former Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas shared a wild video on social media to jump on the Pacers bandwagon and show his support.

Arenas captioned the video, "Bandwagon Jumper at its finest ️Lets go pacers #nochillgilyt"

"Let's go Pacers, baby!" Arenas said in his post to X, "You see how we do. Taking Game 1! Always been a fan."

Bandwagon Jumper at its finest ️Lets go pacers #nochillgilyt pic.twitter.com/SBwLFchBW8
— Gilbert Arenas (@NoChillGilZero) May 22, 2025

Arenas' live reaction to Haliburton's insane buzzer-beater was caught live as well, alongside former NBA star Brandon Jennings, who had a much tougher time keeping his composure.

Brandon Jennings went crazy after Hali’s shot @THEKIDMERO couldn’t believe his eyes

( @WatchPlayback ) pic.twitter.com/7rtGfMAQsU
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 22, 2025

Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers made themselves superstars on Wednesday night, pulling off one of the wildest comebacks in NBA playoff history, and doing so on the biggest stage in Madison Square Garden. Of course, Arenas is joking around, but the Pacers likely gained many fans from their exciting Game 1 win on Wednesday.

This article first appeared on Memphis Grizzlies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: