The New York Knicks lost in embarrassing fashion in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night. Despite the team leading by 14 points with 2:45 remaining, the Knicks somehow lost the contest.
It was a massive choke job, something Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton happily pointed out to fans. After Haliburton thought he hit the game-winning shot, he mimicked the taunt made famous by Pacers legend Reggie Miller after Indiana stormed back against the Knicks in 1994 Eastern Conference finals. Haliburton put both hands up to his neck and pretended he was choking.
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Haliburton’s shot only tied the contest, though that didn’t matter. The Pacers went on to win the contest 138-135, making the gesture another signature moment in the Knicks-Pacers rivalry.
On Thursday morning, New York newspapers made sure to further immortalize the moment, breaking out their best choking headlines on the back page.
The New York Daily News took the most direct approach, simply calling it a “Collapse.” The New York Post recalled Miller’s gesture, and called Haliburton’s version of it “Choke 2.0.” Newsday decided on a pun, going with “Choke’s on Knicks.” Unsurprisingly, all three used the same image of Haliburton on the back page.
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All three papers are known for their iconic — and often pun-heavy — back pages, and Thursday only reinforced that.
If there’s a silver lining for the Knicks, it’s that things can’t get worse from here … right? The road ahead has to get better after Wednesday’s epic collapse and Haliburton’s taunt, doesn’t it? With the Knicks, you can never be sure.
Following the Game 1 loss, the Knicks are off Thursday before taking on the Pacers in Game 2 on Friday. New York will look to even the series, and prove its Game 1 meltdown was nothing more than a fluke.
If the Knicks can do that, they’ll find back page coverage quite a bit more favorable moving forward. If not, New York newspapers are going to have one heck of a time coming up with even more puns highlighting the Knicks’ failures.
Chris Cwik
