Thomas Bryant Has Edge Over OG Anunoby In NBA Playoff Showdown Of Ex-Hoosiers

NEW YORK – Basketball fans in general were treated to one of the NBA games of the season Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks.

For Indiana Hoosiers fans, they got the treat of watching two former teammates – Thomas Bryant and OG Anunoby – battle for a spot in the NBA Finals.

Round 1 went to Bryant and the Pacers – and in miraculous fashion. The Pacers won 138-135 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

With 2:51 left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks led 119-105, but the Pacers surged to force overtime with a 20-6 run to finish regulation.

Bryant did not play in this stretch for the Pacers, but Anunoby was on the floor for the Knicks and played a role in their demise.

With New York leading 124-123 with seven seconds left, Anunoby only made one of two at the line to give the Knicks a two-point lead.

On Indiana’s final play of regulation, Tyrese Haliburton stepped back and fired off a shot that he thought was a 3-point attempt. Haliburton’s shot hit the back of the rim, sailed high above the backboard, and dropped through the net.

Haliburton thought it was a 3-point make and celebrated what he thought was the game-winner by repeating the choke sign Reggie Miller flashed at Spike Lee during a miracle Indiana comeback in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals.

As it turned out, Haliburton’s toe was on the 3-point line, so it was a game-tying rather than game-winning shot.

However, the Pacers were not to be denied. Indiana took the lead on an Andrew Nembhard layup with 27 seconds left. After Anunoby turned the ball over with 20 seconds left, the Pacers worked a perfect inbounds play for Obi Toppin, whose dunk made it 138-135 with 15 seconds left. The Knicks missed two shots in the waning moments that could have tied the game.

Anunoby had a rough night. He played 42 minutes and scored 16 points, but he was 6 of 15 from the field and 2 of 8 from 3-point range. Anunoby was 2 of 4 at the line, including the key miss at the end of regulation. He did add three rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Bryant played 13 minutes, and nearly half of those minutes were in the fourth quarter. He finished with four points and two rebounds. He also got elbowed in the face and was briefly down, but he was celebrating with teammates at the end of the game.

Anunoby and Bryant were teammates at Indiana from 2015-17 and they were both integral players on Indiana’s 2016 Sweet 16 team. That was the last time the Hoosiers made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is 8 p.m. on Friday, and it will be broadcast on TNT.