The Knicks led by 17 points with 6:26 remaining in the fourth quarter and by nine points with under a minute left, only to lose, 138-135, in overtime at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks were ahead by double digits in the fourth quarter, but the Pacers stayed close enough to make a charge in the final minute.

In the final minute of overtime, an Obi Toppin follow-up dunk and nifty pass from Haliburton to a cutting Andew Nembhard gave the Pacers the spark they needed to withstand two late three-point attempts from New York stars Jalen Brunson (43 points) and Karl-Anthony Towns (35 points), which would have tied the game.

The sudden silence among Knicks fans spoke volumes. As the Indiana Pacers celebrated Tyrese Haliburton’s stepback buzzer beater in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, a sellout Madison Square Garden hushed in disbelief.

The New York Knicks lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Indiana Pacers in stunning fashion on Wednesday night and made some brutal NBA history in the process. The Knicks led by 14 points with with 2:45 to play in the fourth quarter but then watched it all slip away before losing,