The Eastern Conference Finals tipped off at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. The Pacers and Knicks would renew their rivalry in the Eastern Conference Finals with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. This was one of the best games ever played inside Madison Square Garden. It was an overtime thriller with everything a basketball fan could ask for. With that said, let’s dive into the top three takeaways from Game 1.

I wrote an article on the top reasons the Pacers will advance to the NBA Finals. In Game 1, my predictions showed themselves in the way of fatigue. The bench had a huge role in the outcome of this game. This team is a handful while trying to guard them for 48 minutes but it is damn near impossible to guard them for 53. The threes that Aaron Nesmith was hitting made the Knicks starters look like they were playing in slow motion.

The best example from the game is when the Knicks were up by 1 in overtime, but the Pacers got the switch they wanted. When Jalen Brunson switched to Tyrese Haliburton, he would try to take him off the dribble but hit Andrew Nembhard cutting to the basket for the two points. It wasn’t a screen or even a double team on Haliburton. It was simply Josh Hart ball-watching. Nembhard’s basket put the Pacers back up one with 26.7 seconds left in OT. Hart must not have listened in Basketball 101. See the ball and your man.

Aaron Nesmith would put on a clinic in the fourth quarter in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He would score a career-high in points with 30 while also shooting and making 8 threes.

Nesmith became the first player in NBA history to hit eight threes in a playoff game. The blue and gold scored 31 points on their final 13 possessions and Nesmith accounted for 20 of those points. He has had an amazing postseason thus far and fans can’t wait to see what else he does in this series. 

The way Head Coach Rick Carlisle went about his rotations and subbed his players in was a great example of why he is so great. Also, how he used his challenges and how Tom Thibodeau fumbled his. Thibodeau used his challenge early in the game on a foul call on Brunson which was upheld. That left the Knicks with no challenges for the rest of the game.

Carlisle on the other hand saved both of his until the fourth quarter which would help them seal the deal. The first challenge was when OG Anunoby fumbled a pass from Brunson. When he did, Pascal Siakam also got a hand on it. It would first be called a foul on Siakam but with a challenge, it would be overturned to the Pacers.

The second challenge was a pass to Brunson that was lost out of bounds. On Indiana’s second challenge, the call was overturned with possession being awarded to the Pacers with less than 20 seconds to go in OT.

This game reminded us of why sports are so important and why its great to watch them. The Pacers are now up 1-0 in a best of seven series. These are my top three reasons the Pacers will continue on this magical run through the postseason and why I believe they win the NBA Finals. As always stay tuned to Total Apex Sports for everything NBA Playoffs.