Aaron Nesmith made six straight three-pointers in the final 4:55 of regulation to spearhead the Indiana Pacers’ improbable Game 1 comeback victory of the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Nesmith scored 30 points in the game with 20 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
“I was just doing what the team needed of me, you know?” Nesmith said. “I was just letting them fly. I was in a good rhythm. Didn’t really realize what I was doing in the moment. Just trying to win a basketball game.”
Nesmith shot 43.1 percent on three-pointers during the regular season and 53.8 percent in the playoffs. During the 2024 playoffs, Nesmith shot just 27.8 percent on three-pointers.
“It’s unreal,” Nesmith said. “It’s probably the best feeling in the world for me, personally. I love it when that basket feels like an ocean and anything you toss up, you feel like it’s going to go in. Ahh, it’s just, so much fun.”
Nesmith was the 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Vanderbilt by the Boston Celtics and became a “second draft” success story after his trade to the Pacers in 2022.