Knicks Slayers Claim Another Victim to Start NBA Finals

As wild as the sequence was, anyone who's been watching knows that this was playoff Pacers basketball 101. This is what they've done for two straight months, and no one knows the inevitability of Indiana's crunch time execution like those who've already found themselves on the wrong side of their late-game antics.

The Game 1 loss from the safety of their own arena and clamorous home crowd, the stats backing up the near-impossibility of the event's likelihood, having to watch as Haliburton continues adding to his unparalleled singe-season run of clutch postseason moments; all of it had to have brought back bad memories for the New York Knicks, who themselves found themselves in a nearly-identical situation just two weeks ago.

The Knicks weren't the heavily-favored machine to win it all like the Thunder were entering the series, but they, too, fumbled their home opener to immediately lose home court advantage.

The Andrew Nembhards, Myles Turners and Aaron Nesmiths once again returned to seemingly hit every shot in the Pacers' rushed attempts to keep stride with the Thunder, setting up another long Haliburton two-pointer while the star on the opposite end came up just short in attempting to hang.

Just like Jalen Brunson took every shot down the stretch, league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander allowed himself to be baited into isolation basketball. The Thunder's offense slowed to a halt in firing as few passes as any team has all season, and the sticky Pacers capitalized with unshakable man defense and the strong legs to always get down the court first.

The Pacers are now 4-0 in Game 1 opportunities this spring, and unlike the Thunder, have yet to find an opponent capable of pushing them to seven games. The Knicks got closer than anyone in scratching their way to a Game 6, but, as everyone in the east knows, these Pacers are as unafraid in enemy territory as anybody. They're 7-2 on the road, putting the pressure on the 68-win favorites to respond to a seemingly-unkillable opponent.