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The Knicks took one of their hardest hits off the floor following Wednesday’s crushing collapse against the Pacers.
Hours after Indiana swiped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals with a 138-135 overtime win at Madison Square Garden, the girlfriend of Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton shaded the Knicks with a spicy Instagram caption.
“Finally got to see the ball drop in NYC,” Jade Jones posted on Instagram on Thursday, along with a smirking face emoji.
Jones had a front-row seat to the Pacers’ fourth-quarter rally at The Garden, where Indiana stunned the star-studded crowd by forcing overtime after the Knicks blew a 14-point lead with less than three minutes remaining.
Haliburton hit a game-tying shot at the end of regulation and imitated Reggie Miller’s infamous choke gesture to the shell-shocked spectators.
“Everybody wanted me to do it last year at some different point, but it’s gotta feel right. It felt right at the time, but if I would’ve known it was a two, I would not have done it,” the two-time All-Star guard said.
Haliburton, 25, is having a stellar playoff run with the Pacers, averaging 18.7 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
He had 31 points, four rebounds and 11 assists in Wednesday’s series opener.
Haliburton celebrated the win with Jones, with whom he shared a passionate embrace on the court.
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Jones and Haliburton have been dating since their college days at Iowa State.
She has been by Haliburton’s side throughout his professional career, including when the Kings selected him 12th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
He was traded to the Pacers in February 2022.
The Pacers are chasing their first-ever championship.
They have dominated the postseason thus far, knocking off the Bucks in the first round in five games before demolishing the top-seeded Cavaliers in the semifinals in five.
Game 2 between the Knicks and Pacers tips off Friday at 8 p.m.
The series shifts to Indiana starting Sunday with Game 3.
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