And what should have been a 1-0 series lead instead landed the Knicks on the wrong side of history. They played 45 minutes of winning basketball — and still became the first team in NBA playoff history to blow a 14-point lead with under 2:50 to play in regulation or overtime.

For an instant, the New York Knicks fans in the raucous, partisan crowd of 19,812 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan—who a few moments earlier were primed to celebrate a win that would bring the Knicks one step closer to their first NBA Finals appearance in 26 years—could breathe a sigh of relief.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks drew a massive audience.