Towns Takes Over, Knicks Rally Late to Take Game 3 Thriller in Indiana

Down 0-2 and desperate, the Knicks stormed back behind Karl-Anthony Towns’ second-half heroics, Josh Hart’s clutch rebounding, and a gutsy fourth-quarter surge to breathe life into their series against Indiana.

Karl-Anthony Towns scores 20 4th quarter PTS to secure a Knicks win!

With their backs against the wall trailing 0-2 in the series, the New York Knicks came into Game 3 knowing the odds weren’t in their favour. They were 0-14 all-time when down 0-2 in a best-of-seven, while the Indiana Pacers had never lost in their nine previous series with a 2-0 lead. So Tom Thibodeau shook things up, starting Mitchell Robinson and bringing Josh Hart off the bench in hopes of injecting some life into the team.

Robinson immediately won the tip, and Jalen Brunson went to work, hitting a smooth turnaround jumper to open the scoring. But, both teams started ice cold. Nembhard and Siakam missed good looks, Towns air-balled inside, and Robinson cleaned it up with a put-back. The Knicks brought energy early, with OG Anunoby blocking Siakam and Bridges driving for two off a Mitchell screen. OG knocked down a three after a rebound battle, and Brunson got to the line for two more. Indiana responded behind Tyrese Haliburton, who snaked inside for a layup, and Myles Turner finally connected from deep after some early misfires.

The Knicks led 11-6 when the Pacers called timeout. From there, the game turned. Sheppard nailed a transition three after a failed lob from Hart to Mitch, and Turner got a three to fall. McBride picked up his third foul, and Toppin and McConnell sparked the Pacers off the bench. Brunson kept attacking, but Indiana stayed perfect from the line. Tony Bradley denied Bridges at the rim, and T.J. McConnell was everywhere, hitting floaters and helping his teammates add to the lead.

Brunson ended the quarter with free throws, but Indiana held a 30-26 lead, their first time leading after the opening quarter in this series.

The second quarter started with Landry Shamet seeing his first minutes of the series. OG fouled early, but Turner missed both free throws. Wright saved a ball going out, and Towns eventually scored on the inbound. T.J. responded with a midrange jumper, and though Towns drove in for a layup, he picked up a second foul. He stayed in the game and missed a three while Indiana’s defense turned up the heat. Siakam went coast to coast, and McConnell kept slicing through the defense, pushing the Pacers into a 12-4 run.

OG briefly stopped the bleeding with a lob dunk from Shamet, but Turner and Bennedict Mathurin scored quickly. Shamet hit a big three in the corner with the clock winding down, but the Knicks still trailed by double digits. The turning point came when Towns was called for his third foul on a controversial hook on Haliburton. After a challenge by Coach Rick Carlisle, the call was overturned, and Towns went to the bench.

Unfortunately for Knicks' fans, the Pacers have been phenomenal with their challenges so far.

From this, Indiana capitalized. Nesmith scored, Obi spun into two more, and Brunson started wincing after getting stepped on by Nesmith. Tyrese was catching fire too, scoring five quick points off turnovers and extending the lead to 20. OG got a layup, Hart attacked the paint, and Bridges finally drilled a corner-three just before the break.

The Knicks had closed the half on a much-needed 8-2 run, but still went into the locker room trailing 58-45.

Back for the second half, it was Deuce McBride who re-ignited the energy for the Knicks, giving them a much-needed spark after a sluggish start to the third quarter. Siakam opened with a tough make over Towns, and though Brunson drew a foul and hit both free throws (the Knicks’ first since the opening quarter), Indiana kept pushing. OG drilled a tough three, but the Pacers responded with a 6-0 run capped by a Nesmith triple after Haliburton stripped Mikal, pushing the lead to 16 and forcing a Knicks timeout.

Towns picked up his fourth foul on a Siakam drive, and soon after, Nesmith rolled his right ankle driving against Brunson. He limped to the locker room and was later ruled questionable to return.

Indiana kept rolling though, while the Knicks struggled to get anything easy. A wild sequence of turnovers followed, with bad passes from Brunson, Towns, and even Haliburton, ending in an Obi Toppin fast-break dunk.

Despite the chaos, New York still had zero fast-break points compared to Indiana’s 16.

But then, the Deuce got loose. Deuce finally got on the board with a floater, then added two free-throws. Mitch then blocked McConnell at the rim, setting up Deuce’s transition three to cut it to eight. He energized the Knicks with his hustle, but a turnover let Indiana strike back with a Turner layup.

McBride had missed a deep three to close the quarter, and the Knicks entered the fourth trailing 80-70, still within reach but needing a sharper push.

Josh Hart opened the fourth quarter with the kind of effort that wins playoff games. After Deuce McBride missed a layup, Hart soared in and grabbed a huge rebound, kicking it out to Towns, who drilled a confident three from the wing.

Just like that, the Knicks were down by seven.

Turner responded with two free throws, but Towns wouldn’t let up, knifing through the lane for a tough layup. Moments later, after T.J. McConnell air-balled a shot, Towns found Delon Wright cutting down the middle for an easy bucket.

Timeout Indiana. The Knicks were rolling on a 14-4 run and had cut the lead to just five.

Back from the break, Hart intercepted a lazy pass from Sheppard, and Towns attacked again for a strong finish. He missed the and-one free throw, and Deuce missed a clean look from deep that would have tied it. Siakam, double-teamed by Hart and Shamet, nailed a fading jumper anyway (a big-time shot), but missed the free-throw. Towns then answered with two at the line, and caught a pass from OG, burying a quick triple to bring the Knicks within one.

And Towns just wouldn't stop there. On the very next play, Towns back-cut Nesmith and jackhammered home a huge dunk while getting fouled, and his and-one free throw ultimately gave the Knicks a three-point lead.

The Knicks’ crowd in Indiana had exploded.

Haliburton briefly put Indiana back up with a clutch three, but Brunson weaved into the paint for a tough layup, and Towns pulled up from deep again and hit a ridiculous three.

Then, with 2.6 seconds left and the Knicks up by two, Hart came flying in for a game-saving rebound, hit both free throws, and sealed it. After trailing by as many as 20 points in the second quarter, the Knicks had won 106-100, climbing back into the series to make it 1-2 against the Pacers.

Overall, four Knicks players surged in double digits with their win tonight: the heroic Towns with 24 points and Brunson with 23 despite foul trouble, OG tallying 16 with four triples, and Bridges chipping in 15. And hats off to Josh Hart, who, although just two points shy of double figures, saved the game with 10 big-time boards, especially with his final rebound that sealed the win.

On the other end, the Pacers had Haliburton leading with 20, Turner adding 19, Siakam posting 17, and T.J. contributing 12 off the bench.

Knicks win Game 3!

Next up, the New York Knicks will be facing the Indiana Pacers away again for Game 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (1-2) on Tuesday May 27, at 8:00 p.m. E.T. to try and even the series.