With their Eastern Conference Finals hopes hanging by a thread, the New York Knicks clawed their way back from a 20-point hole to stun the Indiana Pacers 106-100 in Game 3 on Sunday night, cutting the Pacers’ series lead to 2-1.
Facing the very real threat of a dreaded 3-0 series deficit, and with All-Star guard Jalen Brunson saddled with five fouls and stuck on the bench entering the fourth quarter, it was Karl-Anthony Towns who rose to the moment. Playing through a sore knee, Towns erupted for 20 of his 24 points in a dominant fourth quarter, muscling the Knicks back into contention and ultimately over the finish line.
“Sometimes, you’ve just got to forget everything else and put the team on your back,” Towns said postgame. “Tonight, that was the mindset.”
The Pacers looked poised to run away with Game 3. With Gainbridge Fieldhouse rocking and gold-and-blue “Vroom Baby” shirts filling the stands in celebration of the Indianapolis 500 — won earlier in the day by Spain’s Álex Palou — Indiana surged to a 55-35 lead late in the second quarter.
Even with six members of the 2000 Eastern Conference champion Pacers, including Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, in attendance, the home team couldn’t hold off the Knicks’ late surge. For the third straight game, the road team walked away with the victory.
New York trailed by 16 midway through the third and was still down 10 entering the fourth. But Towns opened the final period with a deep three, then bullied his way inside for back-to-back layups that closed the gap to 82-79. Brunson, reinserted at the 7:45 mark, quickly made his presence felt with a go-ahead layup to give New York its first lead since the opening minutes, 89-88.
The Knicks only trailed twice more the rest of the way and never led by more than four until free throws iced the game with 2.6 seconds left.
Brunson, despite his foul troubles, finished with 23 points and played a pivotal role down the stretch. “He’s the heartbeat of this team,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Even in foul trouble, even banged up, he makes winning plays.”
Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 20 points and six assists, while Myles Turner added 19. But the Pacers, who had rallied twice in the fourth quarter to win Games 1 and 2 in New York, couldn’t replicate the magic on their home floor. They’re now 0-4 all-time when playing on the same day as the Indy 500 — two of those losses now courtesy of the Knicks.
Indiana also suffered a setback in the third quarter when top perimeter defender Aaron Nesmith went down with a sprained right ankle. He did return in the fourth, but coach Rick Carlisle admitted after the game, “We won’t know more until tomorrow. He’s tough, but we’ll evaluate him closely.”
With momentum now swinging New York’s way, Game 4 looms large. Set for Tuesday night back at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, both teams know what’s at stake — for the Knicks, a chance to even the series. For the Pacers, a chance to regain control before heading back to Madison Square Garden.
“We’ve responded before,” said Haliburton. “And we’ll do it again. This series is far from over.”
Indeed it is. With stars rising, tempers flaring, and comebacks becoming routine, the Eastern Conference Finals are shaping up to be a classic.
