We Got a Series -- Cardiac Knicks Win Game 3

Again? Again!

Final Score: Knicks 106 - Pacers 100
Series: 1-2

I've lost count of all the times I've compared the Knicks' 2024-25 campaign to a raucous rollercoaster ride. Their fans have experienced myriad highs and lows, from the preseason through the playoffs. New York soared to dizzying heights only to plummet precipitously back down to earth, making fans queasy along the way.

A week ago, New Yorkers were literally dancing in the streets outside MSG after shutting down 7th Avenue following the Knicks' incredible closeout victory over the Celtics in Game 6. A few nights later, the Garden was eerily quiet as patrons poured out into midtown following an unprecedented collapse and crushing defeat in the ECF series opener.

After New York also coughed up Game 2, many fans felt hope had been extinguished. And if any Knicks faithful were still Pollyannaish with the series heading to the Midwest, even some of the most ardent acolytes likely let go of the rope in the first half of Game 3.

With four minutes remaining in the second quarter Friday night, Tyrese Haliburton threw an alley-oop to Obi Toppin, and the former Knicks threw it down with one hand to give the home team a 15-point lead. After Jalen Brunson missed a three-pointer, Haliburton pushed the ball up the floor and pulled up for a 3PT in transition to push the lead to 18. The Pacers' PG then stole an errant pass from Josh Hart and raced to the other end for a dunk. Thibs called a timeout.

The score was 55-35.

The Gainbridge Fieldhouse was a madhouse. The front-running Haliburton was jumping up and down, grabbing his jersey. The home crowd was rollicking.

For Knicks fans, it surely seemed that this season's extraordinary rollercoaster ride was finally coming to an end. Was this insufferable, sadistic stretch of dunks and uncontested triples one last nausea-inducing nosedive down the tracks?

While plenty of fans were ready to hop off, having experienced more distress than they could handle, the Knicks hung on, regaining their footing and cutting the lead to 13 by halftime.

However, Indiana had a solid start to the second half and pushed the lead to 15 with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter courtesy of a TJ McConnell jumper.

The scoreboard read 78-63. Brunson couldn't get it going and was saddled with foul trouble. Mikal Bridges was struggling. KAT was MIA. New York was about to sink into an insurmountable 3-0 hole. Their season was on the brink.

That's when Miles McBride (who barely played in the first half after picking up three fouls in less than two minutes) hit a pull-up jumper from the left baseline. After New York got a stop, McBride drew a foul on McConnell and knocked down both free throws. Mitchell Robinson blocked a McConnell layup attempt, and Deuce drilled a contested three-pointer from the left wing.

McBride's personal 7-0 run had breathed life into New York. (If the Knicks pull off a crazy comeback, Deuce's buckets were Dave Roberts stealing second base.)

However, Brunson was still on the bench with four fouls, and Towns couldn't buy a bucket over the first three quarters, scoring just four points on 2-of-8 shooting.

The Knicks ended the third and began the fourth (their most crucial quarter of the season up to this point) with a lineup featuring Towns, Hart, and McBride alongside Delon Wright and Landry Shamet. This brings us to one of the fascinating storylines from this peculiar game in this singular season.

Tom Thibodeau's rigidity regarding lineups and rotations has been a talking point throughout his time in New York (and his entire career as an NBA head coach, for that matter). Yet, Thibs, after much prodding, decided to switch up his starting lineup Friday night, with Robinson replacing Hart. It was the first time this season that the usual starting five were healthy but didn't begin the game. The decision paid immediate dividends, as New York jumped out to an early lead instead of falling behind by double digits.

The other mid-series adjustment from Thibs was another option we had long been requesting: expanding his rotation.

Delon Wright had played a total of 26 seconds over the first two games of the ECF (and no meaningful minutes over the first two rounds of the playoffs) but checked at the 3:30 mark of the first quarter and would log 13 minutes of court time Friday night.

Shamet didn't play at all in Game 1 or 2 and hadn't made a shot since the first game of the first round vs. Detroit. Yet, the shooting guard made his first three-pointer of the postseason and dished out two assists in the second quarter, helping to keep the Knicks afloat. Although his final numbers don't jump off the page, Shamet's energy and effort were undeniably impactful, especially on the defensive end.

Remarkably, he was +12 in 11 minutes of action, the highest plus-minus on the team in Game 3 (just like we all assumed heading into this crucial contest, right?)

However, there was only so much that seldom-used reserves could contribute. If the Knicks were going to win this game and get back in this series, they needed a herculean effort from one of their stars.

With a foul-plagued Brunson watching from the sidelines, Karl-Anthony Towns put the team on his back.

As noted above, KAT had struggled over the first 36 minutes of the contest. Yet, over the final 12, he would play the most consequential quarter of his nascent Knicks career.

Towns, playing with four fouls of his own, opened the final frame with a three-pointer, which cut the lead to single digits. He followed that up with a bucket over Myles Turner. At the 8:30 mark and New York down by 4, KAT drained a quick-release three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the deficit to one.

On the Knicks' next offensive possession, Towns cut down the middle of the Pacers' defense and threw down a thunderous dunk over Andrew Nembhard. That basket gave New York its first lead since the first quarter.

Brunson checked back in at the nine-minute mark but picked up his fifth foul shortly thereafter and headed back to the bench.

With just over five minutes remaining in regulation. KAT hit a step-back three-pointer over Siakam and Turner, putting the Knicks up four.

The score was 94-90. Indiana called a timeout.

Regardless of what happens this week, the fourth-quarter dominance displayed by Towns on Sunday night will be remembered by the Knicks faithful for a very long time. With the Knicks teetering on the edge, KAT put the team on his broad shoulders and carried them from down double-digits to a two-possession advantage (they would never relinquish that lead).

Here are the cumulative stats from the first seven minutes of the 4Q:
Karl-Anthony Towns:
20 points (on 6-of-8 shooting)
6 rebounds
+14

The entire Pacers team combined:
10 points (on 3-of-9 shooting)
5 rebounds
-14

In the closing crunch-time minutes, Bridges and McBride both made a pair of free throws. The Captain returned to action with his cape on and sank a floater (the final made FG for either team) with 1:17 on the clock.

The Knicks got timely stops, crucial rebounds, and six clutch free throws in the final 20 seconds (two by JB and four from Hart) to seal the deal.

Incredibly, New York was a perfect 15-for-5 from the line over the final ten minutes of regulation. NY's free-throw shooting was a massive factor in their Game 1 loss, but it was a primary reason they escaped Game 3 with a victory.

During that fourth quarter, if you listened closely, you could hear the familiar "clickety-clack" of the roller coaster train climbing a lift hill.

Knicks fans could feel the air whoosh by as they ascended another unpredictable peak.

Stick your hands in the air and scream. The ride is not over.

9 down. 7 to go.

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 Unbelievably, this was the third time in these playoffs that New York overcame a deficit of 20+ points to win a game. The NBA has been tracking play-by-play data since 1997, and this is the first time a team has accomplished this feat three times in one postseason.

Coming into this year, New York had come back from down 20 to win a playoff game just once in their franchise’s history.

They've now done it three times this month and thrice in their last four road games!

This Knicks club has also won two games in which they trailed by double digits entering the fourth quarter. Only three other teams in NBA history have multiple such wins in a single playoff run.

Incredible.