The Indiana Pacers were minutes away from going 3-0 up in the Eastern Conference Finals. But Karl-Anthony Towns had other plans. The New York Knicks pulled off a stunning 106-100 win in Game 3 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday night, keeping their title hopes alive and cutting the series deficit to 2-1.
The Pacers had full control early on. They led by 20 points late in the second quarter and looked set to run away with it. Tyrese Haliburton was running the show, and the home crowd was loving it, especially with racing star Alex Palou in attendance after his Indianapolis 500 win. At half-time, Indiana led 55-39 and seemed to be cruising.
But everything changed in the second half. The Knicks slowly chipped away at the lead. By the end of the third quarter, they had pulled it back to 80-70. Then came the Karl-Anthony Towns takeover.
?Towns dropped 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter alone. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and bullied the Pacers inside the paint. Jalen Brunson helped too, adding 23 points and hitting some big free throws late on. OG Anunoby was also key, scoring 16 with four three-pointers.
The Knicks took the lead for the first time at 89-88 with just over seven minutes left and never let go. Indiana kept it close but struggled to hit their shots from deep, finishing with just 5 threes out of 25 attempts. Myles Turner had 19, and Haliburton finished with 20, but they couldn¡¯t stop the Knicks¡¯ momentum.
With Game 4 coming up on Tuesday, the pressure is now on Indiana. What looked like a series sweep is suddenly a live contest. And New York? They¡¯ve found their fight again.