Knicks 106, Pacers 100: “The 9 man rotation is undefeated”

After falling behind by 20, New York rallied in the third and won the fourth by 16 to win Game Three.

A must-win game? Just a little bit. The New York Knicks (1-2) came into tonight’s Game Three of the ECF against the Indiana Pacers (2-1) having lost all nine playoff games they had played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. A loss tonight would have put them in a virtually hopeless 3-0 hole. For stretches tonight—especially when they were down by 20—it seemed like the Knicks were helping with the shovels. But some creativity from Thibs, strong bench play, and a massive fourth quarter by the Karl-Anthony Towns-Josh Hart tandem turned the tide for a 106-100 victory.

Recognizing the need for change, Knicks’ coach Tom Thibodeau relegated Josh Hart to the bench and started Mitchell Robinson alongside Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns. The decision paid immediate dividends: on the first possession, the KAT and Mitch set a double-screen for Jalen Brunson, producing an easy jumper. Brunson would finish the night with 23 points in 31 minutes and hit all 10 free throw attempts.

Each team started 1-of-5 from the floor, but New York assembled an 11-6 lead by the seven-minute mark by winning the boards and scoring in the paint. Their success would not last long.

OG Anunoby swatted down two shots in his first three minutes and swished a triple. He would finish the night with 16 points, three blocks, and a steal:

The Pacers score in a hurry. Consecutive triples by Myles Turner and Ben Sheppard flipped a five-point lead to a one-point deficit in just 19 seconds. The Knicks closed the gap but never took command. When McBride acquired his third foul, Thibs replaced Deuce with Delon Wright rather than Cameron Payne. Wright got a steal, but couldn’t score, either. After one, New York trailed 30-26.

To start the second, Indiana outscored New York for a ten-point lead. Desperate to find some juice, Thibs even dusted off Landry Shamet for a few minutes in the second quarter.

After that Shamet bucket, the Hoosiers’ advantage would reach 20 thanks to 13 unanswered points. The Knicks were comedians of errors, with missed shots, turnovers (six in the quarter), and fouls. They forgot how to rebound, lost every 50/50 ball, and let Indiana race up and down the court undeterred. Five points from Anunoby helped, but Jalen Brunson picked up his fourth foul on an overzealous close-out. Thanks to scores by Bridges and Hart, our heroes were lucky to enter intermission down 58-45.

Indiana owned the half. They outshot the Knicks 51% to 38% while winning the glass (23-17), in transition (14 fast-break points to zilch), and in the paint (24-20). New York’s six turnovers weren’t disastrous, but the Pacers’ bench outscored their Knicks counterparts, 23-7. How weird was this half? Mitch outscored KAT 6-4.

To start the second half, New York cut the differential to 10, but Towns fouled for the fourth time, and the Pacers scored six unanswered for the 100th time. Thank goodness for Anunoby, who made two triples in the quarter when Brunson couldn’t buy a bucket.

About midway through the quarter, Aaron Nesmith turned his right ankle and was helped to the locker room. Even with Nesmith out, New York failed to make inroads. They missed another defensive rebound which became a Talia Jasmine McConnell bucket, and Brunson blew a layup on the other end.

McBride, Wright, and Shamet played the final minutes of the quarter, and the latter worked Obi Toppin into an offensive foul. Deuce McBride contributed five on a 7-0 Knicks run that brought his team within eight. Myles Turner

To start the fourth, Thibs went with Wright, McBride, Shamet, Hart, and Towns. Weird, but effective. They cut the lead to seven. When Towns dished to a cutting, open Wright, the score was 82-77. When Hart picked Sheppard’s pocket, he found Towns for a bucket, narrowing the hole to three at 10 minutes left. The bench wasn’t scoring a ton for the Knicks, but they provided solid defensive contributions that let Brunson, Bridges, and Anunoby rest up for a final push.

Capping a 24-7 run with six monster points, Towns gave the visitors a two-point lead with eight minutes left. After barely scoring four points in the first half, Karl finished the night with 24 points and 15 rebounds on 8-of-17 shooting.

Brunson checked back in briefly but committed his fifth foul and was promptly removed. Towns tried to do it all—shooting threes, smashing the glass, making free throws, and even running the floor like a seven-foot guard. He swished a contested 30-foot shot to put New York up by four.

Haliburton (20 points, six assists, and three steals) and Siakam (17 points) answered with buckets and defensive plays to keep the game close. When Brunson finally returned to the game, Siakam was at the foul line, tying the score at 98 with 1:37 left. He hit a teardrop, and New York was ahead 100-98 with 37.6 to go. Hart skied for a defensive board, was fouled by Nesmith, and despite bashing his knee on the floor, managed to make both freebies.

Bridges fouled Haliburton to put him on the line with 9.7 to go. The Hoosier made them both. New York had possession with a two-point lead. In an unexpectedly great inbound, they got the ball to Brunson, who was fouled and made both for a four-point lead. Eight seconds left. Siakam got a look but missed. Hart (who else) secured the rebound, made both shots and sealed the victory. Your final: 106-100.

Quoth marcus7: “The 9 man rotation is undefeated.” You ain’t lyin. The bench finished with 22 points and each player was a net positive. Now that he’s found a formula that works, let’s see what Thibs does with it.

Up Next

These two teams meet again for Game Four in Indiana. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

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