ESPN’s Molly Qerim Warned on National TV as Angry Stephen A. Smith Throws Entire Knicks Under the Bus

It was the worst day to be a Knickerbocker. Even worse if you’re the passionate kind! Did you break your TV sets as the New York Knicks lost Game 1 of the ECF vs. the Indiana Pacers? If not, then congratulations, you have the power and patience to deal with the defeat. Unlike Stephen A. Smith, who felt sick in his stomach after the game. Oh boy, did he rant on First Take after that!

14.4% of anonymous players gave their verdict on Tyrese Haliburton. The tag? “Overrated.” And now, when this ‘overrated’ star is causing a menace on the court, no one can stop him. From Round 1 of the playoffs to the Eastern Conference Finals, Hali remains unbeaten. That jumper at buzzer-beater that equalized scores for the Pacers, pushing the game into OT, was pure magic. But not for Stephen A., and he blames defeat on not just one but the entire Knicks squad.

“I’m not putting it on one person. It was a collective collapse of epic proportions. It was horrible,” Stephen A. Smith told Molly Qerim and Co. on First Take. “Okay, my man OG Anunoby and the rest of the crew, I don’t want to hear anything from anybody else. This is bad. This is very bad.” The 57-year-old wasn’t in a good mood. Grumpy is the word; annoyed is the word; angry would be the best. Continuing his rant, SAS said: “The New York Knicks had a 17-point lead with 6:13 left in the game. Seventeen points. They had a 14-point lead with two minutes and forty seconds left in regulation. They had a nine-point lead with 52 seconds left in regulation. And they lost this game.”

.@stephenasmith is “sick to [his] stomach” over the Knicks’ Game 1 loss pic.twitter.com/EE0jkpK1bI

— First Take (@FirstTake) May 22, 2025

The Pacers pulled off a wild heist at Madison Square Garden. Initially down by 17 in the fourth and still trailing by 14 with just 3:14 left, they suddenly flipped the script. From that point on, they exploded for 23 points in a shocking burst. In fact, no team had done that since 1997. Meanwhile, as the game moved into overtime, Indiana stayed hot and outscored the Knicks 13 to 10. Ultimately, it ended 138 to 135. A collapse for the ages. A comeback for history.

Well, the Knicks had it in the bag—until they didn’t. “If Tyrese Haliburton’s feet weren’t so big,” Stephen A. Smith added. His shot would’ve ended it in regulation. Instead, it dragged into overtime. Meanwhile, Nesmith turned into Steph Curry, drilling six straight threes. Haliburton added flair, copying Reggie Miller with a choke sign. And the Knicks? Five brutal turnovers. They got cocky, lost focus, and let it all slip.

“You saw the run that they made without Jalen Brunson on the court because he was in foul trouble. You saw Karl-Anthony Towns flexing and roaring at the crowd and all of this stuff,” the analyst continued. Perhaps he was truly hurt by the turn of events. “Then they got comfortable, and as a result, they started turning the ball over. They tried to take ill-advised shots. They got a bit cocky, and it came back to bite them.” Then he gave a verdict, “If the New York Knicks lose this series, this is the game we’re all going to look at forever. This is historic. We have seen nobody in NBA history come back from such a deficit in the last two minutes and forty to forty-five seconds, but it happened last night at the Garden.”

Amidst the heartbreak, angry rant, and nausea that Stephen A. Smith sent a clear warning to his colleague Molly Qerim. It was moments before kicking off the latest edition of First Take that a frustrated SAS warned her about his mood.

The New York Knicks’ loss made Stephen A. Smith warn his ESPN colleague Molly Qerim

Stephen A. Smith was loud and honest about his discontent and disgust after the Knicks‘ 0-1 start to the Conference Finals. “I am having a very, very bad morning. Look at my face. I’m not in a very good mood. I was supposed to be orange and blue skies,” Smith began his monologue. “It was supposed to be orange and blue skies, okay? But as you can see, there’s rain descending upon us. Thunder. Yes, I’m in OKC, but damn it, I’m talking about the New York Knicks.” Now that’s some wordplay there!

Besides, it just wasn’t the right time to be a Knicks fan. Moreover, the people who named one of the streets of NYC after Jalen Brunson, how are they doing? At the same time, Stephen A. Smith, like most fans, cannot digest the fact that KAT & Co., despite having a 17-point lead, couldn’t capitalize on the situation. SAS shared a personal experience, “My assistant Sumatra started clapping and celebrating like the world was ours. She got cocky. The rest of the Knicks sensed it. So did Karl-Anthony Towns. And so did Jalen Brunson. And so did everybody else.”

“I am having a very, very bad morning … It was supposed to be orange and blue skies.”

—@stephenasmith reacts to the Knicks’ Game 1 loss to the Pacers pic.twitter.com/L8iFnPMZbD

— First Take (@FirstTake) May 22, 2025

Now, this is where Molly Qerim, even before firing a question or two toward Smith, got her warning. “And suddenly everything collapsed. And I’m sitting here now. So I’m just warning y’all today. I am not in a very good mood at all. At all. Molly, I’m warning you. This is not the day to mess with me,” SAS said in despair.

Thus, it was heartbreak served on a Madison Square platter. The Knicks crumbled, the Pacers soared, and Stephen A. Smith? He unraveled on live TV. From buzzer-beaters to bold choke signs, it was chaos in every frame. And just like that, orange and blue skies turned stormy. Moreover, with the city stunned and SAS fuming, one thing’s certain—Game 1 wasn’t just a loss, it was a full-blown New York nightmare.

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