Caitlin Clark sends 9-word message after Pacers stun Knicks in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals

Zain Bando

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Caitlin Clark sends 9-word message after Pacers stun Knicks in Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals image

Just when it looked like the Indiana Pacers were all but done in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final opposite the New York Knicks Wednesday night, a miracle ensued.

One of many Pacers fans, including a fan favorite athlete, won't soon forget.

Trailing by as many as 14 in the game's final minutes, the Pacers stormed back to steal a road win, 138-135, thanks to an elite shooting effort from Aaron Nesmith in a Reggie Miller-esque performance. Naismith finished with 30 points, spearheading what appeared as a game Indiana had no business winning for much of the second half.

One lucky bounce saw his fellow teammate, Tyrese Haliburton, force overtime to silence Madison Square Garden in regulation's closing seconds. This had another Indiana star and ex-Iowa Hawkeyes legend, Caitlin Clark, locked in.

Clark's Indiana Fever sit at 1-1, as they lost to the Atlanta Dream Tuesday night. With a day off, NBA playoff basketball was appointment viewing.

 

"PACERS ARE THE GREATEST COMEBACK TEAM I'VE EVER SEEN," Clark tweeted in all caps.

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It's hard to argue with Clark's assessment. After all, the Pacers made history with the win. Not only was the comeback improbable, but the Pacers broke a 21-year absence without a win in the Eastern Conference Finals leading up to Game 1.

However, the series is far from over. Neither team has a chance to rest fully between games. The series remains in New York Friday night, as the Pacers attempt to snag Game 2 and go home to Indianapolis two wins away from a possible sweep.

Meanwhile, it's back to the drawing board for the Knicks after knocking out the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics in the second round.

Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on TNT.

Zain Bando

Zain Bando is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Over the years, Bando has written about various beats surrounding Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State Athletics but sticks to the Big Ten as his primary expertise. Outside of collegiate reporting, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated and hosts/co-hosts two podcasts as part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – Bando's Breakdowns and The MMA Outsiders, which air weekly on YouTube and are distributed on all podcast platforms Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons. Bando is a Chicago Suburban native and a member of the FWAA and USBWA, continuing to hone his professional skills as a sports journalist and media personality. Since June 2019, Bando's byline has been seen across many mediums, including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network (Sports News Highlights), Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters, and more. When Bando is not writing, he binges on old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes every Super Bowl, and manifests all the places he still has to travel to (even while bringing his laptop).