The Indiana Pacers pulled off yet another comeback win in the playoffs on Wednesday night, and they have been rewriting the NBA history books in the process.
Despite trailing by 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Pacers fought their way to a 138-135 overtime win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden.
There are countless statistics that have surfaced showing just how incredible the Pacers have been in crunch time during the playoffs. Here are some of the craziest ones.
A flurry of points
The Pacers scored an otherworldly 23 points in the final 3:14 of regulation. According to Yahoo Sports, that is the most a team has scored in that stretch of time at any point during a game in NBA playoff history. Basic math would tell you the Knicks should have been able to prevent Indiana from even getting enough possessions to score that many points in such a short span.
Down 14 with under 3:00 to play? No problem
Indiana trailed by 14 points with 2:50 remaining in regulation. Prior to the miraculous Game 1 comeback, teams over the last 27 NBA postseasons had been 0-970 in that situation. That record now stands at 1-970.
over the last 27 postseasons, teams were 0-970 when they trailed by 14 or more points in the final 2:50 of regulation.
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 22, 2025
that's now 1-970. pic.twitter.com/69PbNImq1H
Down nine with under a minute left? Also no problem
The only thing more impressive than erasing a 14-point deficit with 2:50 remaining is overcoming a nine-point deficit with under a minute left to play. The Pacers managed to do both.
Since 1998, NBA teams that trailed by nine or more points in the final minute of regulation or overtime in a postseason game are 1-1,414. Indiana now has the only win.
FIRST TEAM OUT OF 1400+ TO WIN A COMEBACK LIKE THIS...
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) May 22, 2025
Teams that trailed by 9+ points in the final minute of the 4th quarter or OT of an #NBAPlayoff game were 0-1414 since 1998.
Now, thanks to Tyrese Haliburton and Indiana... they are 1-1414. pic.twitter.com/drqcPhfE3X
Aaron Nesmith goes off
Tyrese Haliburton hit the clutch shot that forced OT, but the Pacers would not have stood a chance without Nesmith's historic shooting performance in the fourth quarter.
Nesmith shot 6-of-7 from three-point range in the final 8:53 of regulation. He became the first player in NBA history to make six threes in the fourth quarter of a playoff game.
The true 'Comeback Kids'
Since 1996, NBA teams that have trailed by seven or more points in the final 50 seconds of regulation or OT in a playoff game are 4-1,702. The Pacers own three of those four wins.
But that's not all. All three wins for Indiana have come in this postseason alone. They overcame the same deficit in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks and second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This stat is ABSURD.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 22, 2025
(via: @Pacers) pic.twitter.com/tf2XtHPlo4
It would be an understatement to say that history is being made.
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