Aaron Nesmith’s hot hand broke NBA records and Knicks’ heart in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals

The Indiana Pacers had to play perfect basketball down the stretch in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks to have any shot at a comeback. If any team could have that belief, it’s the Pacers. Indiana had already pulled off ridiculous last-minute comebacks twice in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, first to stun the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the first-round, then to shock the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the second-round.

Somehow, Indiana did it again for their most unbelievable comeback yet. Before Tyrese Haliburton could channel Reggie Miller’s choke sign and mint his status as a New York City supervillain for life, one of his unsung teammates had to briefly become the greatest shooter in the world to give Indiana a chance.

The Pacers beat the Knicks, 138-135, in overtime in a Game 1 instant classic. This was legitimately one of the most unhinged endings to a high-stakes NBA Playoffs game in history, and it was made possible Nesmith briefly turning into some combination of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, and Miller himself.

Nesmith hit his first three-pointer of the fourth quarter with 4:45 remaining on a shot that cut the Knicks’ lead from 15 points to 12 points. By the time the fourth quarter buzzer sounded, Nesmith had hit five more threes in the fourth, including three in the final minute, make an impossible comeback possible. Watch the highlights here:

This is legitimately mind-blowing stuff from Nesmith, and it can’t be forgotten in the wake of Haliburton’s absurd game-tying shot and the Knicks’ total collapse. Consider the following:

• Nesmith’s six threes in the fourth quarter are the most by any player ever in the playoffs dating back to when play-by-play data became available (since 1998)
• Nesmith’s eight threes on the night are the most ever by an Indiana Pacers player.

Knocking Reggie Miller out of the Indiana record books should be impossible for a career role player like Nesmith, but those paying close attention in these playoffs have noticed he’s taken his game to a new level in the postseason.

Draymond Green once said there are “16-game players and 82-game players.” It’s become clear that Nesmith is a 16-game player, aka a “playoff riser.” Nesmith was a super efficient scorer and shooter and tough defender during the regular season by averaging 12 points per game on 43.1 percent three-point shooting and 65.3 percent true shooting. In the playoffs, he’s averaging 16 points per game on 53.8 percent three-point shooting and 71.3 percent true shooting. Those numbers are incomprehensible.

NBA fans have debated the idea of the “hot hand” over the years. Nesmith might have just had the hottest hand in playoff history over a short stretch.

Nesmith was considered one of the top shooting prospects in the 2020 NBA Draft coming out of Vanderbilt after making 52.2 percent of his threes as a sophomore. The question was how else he could impact the game. The Boston Celtics took Nesmith with the No. 14 overall pick in the draft, and he struggled to get on the floor during the first two years of his career. Eventually, he was traded to Indiana in a deal that sent Malcolm Brogdon to Boston.

Maybe all those practice sessions against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown helped give Nesmith the toughness to deliver in big moments. He remade himself as a gritty defender while maintaining his sweet three-point stroke. These days, Nesmith defends the other team’s top scorer and spaces the floor for Indiana’s fast-paced offense. He’s quickly becoming one of the better role players in the league.

Haliburton put it best earlier in the playoffs: “Every team in the NBA wants a guy like Aaron Nesmith.”

Gritty wing defenders who stretch the floor are so important in the playoffs, even if they rarely get the deserved recognition for their play. Nesmith delivered in amazing fashion in the biggest moment possible, and he’ll be remembered as a Pacers playoff hero forever.