Teams trailing by 9 or more points in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime had a combined record of 0-1,414 in the playoffs since 1998. The Knicks just became the footnote to that infamous stat, marking the first time such a lead was squandered in over a quarter-century of postseason basketball.

For as much as the Knicks need to refocus on Friday night’s enormous Game 2, they also have to remember what led to them blowing a 14-point lead in the final 2:39 of regulation to avoid it happening again.

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 New York Knicks were less than one minute away from taking a 1-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals at a frenzied Madison Square Garden before suffering a crushing defeat,

After three so-so seasons in New York stuck behind since-traded All-Star power forward Julius Randle, he was dealt to Indiana in 2023 for two future second-round picks.

Jalen Brunson had just tied Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing's franchise record by reaching 30 points in the playoffs for the 18th time with the New York Knicks. Then the Knicks hit the Indiana Pacers with a 14-0 run after Brunson had to go to the bench early in the fourth quarter Wednesday night after picking up his fifth foul,

Knicks fans have seen it all. They've never seen this, though: a loss so jaw-dropping that it somehow silenced the city that never sleeps.

As the Pacers crept back into the game, the Knicks were confronted with a burden few franchises carry: 50 years of history.