As the clock ticked inside of one minute remaining, the home team felt confident. They were up three possessions after leading for an extended period, with elite free-throw shooters ready to maintain that lead should the losing team -- the Indiana Pacers -- start fouling. NBA history suggests that sort of lead, especially in the playoffs, is essentially a locked-in win.
Then the Pacers exploded in a whirlwind of huge shots and swarming defense and came all the way back, with Tyrese Haliburton hitting an improbable shot from the top of the arc to complete the comeback.
Which game are we talking about? Inexplicably, that description applies to two different games in this year's playoffs alone. In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night, the Pacers came back from down nine points in the final minute to force overtime and ultimately win the game on the road against the New York Knicks.
It perfectly mirrored another Pacers comeback from just two weeks earlier, when it was the Cleveland Cavaliers falling apart after holding a seven point lead with 47 seconds left. In both games, it was Tyrese Haliburton pulling up from straight on to snatch victory from the jaw of defeat and leave the home team gutted.
The Cavaliers felt some serious deja vu
It had to be a visceral feeling of deja vu for members of the Cavaliers on Wednesday night, watching the Pacers fight and claw their way back from a mammoth deficit to steal the victory. It has been a playoffs of remarkable comebacks, with the Knicks stealing two games from the Boston Celtics after trailing by 20 points and the Pacers having a third incredible comeback in the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Yet the similarities for the Cavaliers' Game 2 defeat and the Knicks' collapse in the Conference Finals are shockingly similar. This Pacers team is never out of a game, pressing and swarming and never allowing an opposing offense to breathe. Inbounding against them is a nightmare; the Cavaliers had two different blunders getting the ball in during their collapse, while the Knicks avoided disaster three different times but couldn't get efficient offense after very nearly turning the ball over.
Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard have also played starring roles in both comeback attempts. While Tyrese Haliburton slammed the door in completing both comebacks in regulation, the Pacers' pair of tenacious two-way wings elevated to the moment and hit big shots and played smothering defense. Against the Cavaliers it was Nesmith breaking free for a dunk and Nembhard adding a steal and an assist in the final minute; vs the Knicks, Nesmith went nuclear for 17 points in the final 3:14 of the game, including five 3-pointers.
1,644 times since 1997-98 (when the NBA started official tracking) has a team been up at least seven points in the final minutes of a playoff game. Only four of those times has the losing team come back to win.
Three of those four are by this year's Indiana Pacers team.
The Cavaliers and Knicks are partners in misery, hit by the same inexplicable meteor wearing gold and blue. For Cleveland, it proved to be the death blow, as injuries and cold shooting sent them spiraling to a five-game defeat.
The Knicks have a chance to come back and redeem themselves, and the team that was supposed to be built on winning clutch moments can seize the title back from the Pacers. But they will have to play better than they did in Game 1 for all 48 minutes, or they might fall victim to history once again.
Cleveland is still reeling from their colossal playoff collapse, but perhaps it is some small solace that they are not the only victim to history.