Hoping to defeat the Pacers one more time, the undermanned Knicks team came into Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the third game of the series. But they were not fully prepared for Indiana’s response after the two losses at MSG. Responding with an amazing performance on their home court, in front of their fans, the Pacers triumphed over the Knicks by five points. And the player who likely took the game ball home for shattering the Knicks’ hopes was Andrew Nembhard.

Nembhard was initially having a rough night on offense, having scored zero points in the first three quarters. While he was contributing all night on the other end of the floor with his six assists and five rebounds, his scoring drought continued until the final two minutes of the game. And that’s when everything changed as Nembhard scored arguably the two most important baskets of the game.

First, after a huge and slightly controversial block by Myles Turner, Nembhard scored his first basket of the game with under two minutes on the clock, a layup to give his team a two-point lead. Then, moments later, with less than twenty seconds left for the final whistle, the guard hit the biggest shot of the night, a Hail Mary three-point shot over Jalen Brunson, which eventually proved to be the game-winning shot for the Pacers.

Although Nembhard had his lowest-scoring game of these playoffs tonight, his five points might have been the biggest points of his young career. Helping his team get back in the series and giving them a chance to reach the Conference Finals, Nembhard emerged as the unlikely hero for the Pacers and potentially the unexpected villain for the Knicks fans.

Andrew Nembhard’s heroics stun the Knicks faithful!

Nembhard’s dagger shot on Brunson ended the hopes of the Knicks fans who were expecting an easy sweep to the Conference Finals. And the tough loss was hard to digest for the Knicks faithful as they took over social media to express their disbelief.

Not sugarcoating his emotions, this Knicks fan wrote, “Knicks got f**king robbed.” Although unclear concerning the wordings, it might be because of the controversial officiating decisions toward the end of the game that seemed to have left the New York side baffled.

From Josh Hart getting blocked in the final minutes which probably should have been given a goaltend to a potential foul on Jalen Brunson at the end of the game, the Knicks fans were not happy with the officials tonight.

Even Hollywood actor Ben Stiller, who was present in MSG for Game 2 to watch the Knicks beat the Pacers live, tried to put on a brave face after tonight’s brutal loss.

But many Knicks fans diverted the blame toward the game officials and accused them of blowing two crucial calls in the closing minutes.

One fan even went as far as to say that the officials should be barred from any more playoff games, based on the kind of effect the crucial decisions had potentially.

Now, tonight’s game is not the first time the officials have been in question for their controversial decisions. Rather, this has been an ongoing debate throughout the playoffs, which has hurt both teams one time or the other.

But eventually, the person the Knicks fans blamed the most was Andrew Nembhard, who likely became the biggest villain of New York, at least for one night. One fan took to the comments section to highlight how the play by Andrew turned out to be table turner in this context.

Thanks to Nembhard, the Pacers are now back in the series, and on Sunday, they will have a chance to even the score with the Knicks and shatter their hopes even more.