New York can even the ECF series with another win in Indy.

The Knicks smelled blood. New York took advantage and made the ECF a real series.

It’s just one more game in Indy before everybody and their father return to the Garden for Game 5 on Thursday.

Here’s what Coach Thibs and a few other folks have said leading up to Game 4 on Tuesday.

Tom Thibodeau

On how players should approach the game and KAT’s versatility:

“Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. We always talk about playing smart, and when you’re playing smart, you’re playing to your strengths and covering up your weaknesses. You can’t get here without being a great player. So, whatever it is that you do great, that’s what we want you to lock into. It’s not only understanding what you do well, but understanding what your teammates do well. Lead them into the things that they do well and cover up their weaknesses. When you do that, you’re playing smart and enhancing your chances of winning. KAT, as we know, is a very gifted scorer. He can score at three different levels. He’s comfortable at the 3-point line, comfortable putting the ball on the floor and comfortable playing with his back to the basket. So, as long as he stays aggressive, it’s a huge plus for us.”

On Towns’ Game 3 performance:

“The mantra of the team is when someone gets going, you got to try to keep him going. It was everyone working together to get open shots for him.”

On the Knicks’ medical team and the status of KAT/Hart after dealing with injuries recently:

“No. I don’t know if you’re aware, but our medical team is voted the best in the league. They are tough-minded, and I think, at this time of the year, the mental toughness is probably more important than the physical toughness. And both of those guys are mentally tough, which I think is huge.”

On Hart and Robinson new roles:

“When Mitch was coming off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench. When Josh comes off the bench, he’s a starter coming off the bench.”

On adapting lineups and the strategy behind it:

“Whatever gives your team the best chance to win. You guys always—I know you try to put everything into a box. I don’t work that way. People think I want a low-scoring game. No, I just want one more point than they have. I don’t care if it’s low-scoring, high-scoring, medium-scoring. I just wanna win. That’s the bottom line. Whatever gives us the best chance to win, that’s what we’re gonna do. And so, that’s what I felt was gonna give us the best chance to win tonight’s game, so that’s why we did it.”

On having a team-first mindset and enjoying the journey in a possible trip to the Finals:

“I try not to get wrapped up in anything that’s personal. I think everything is team-oriented and so when you’re with a team you want to maximize all the opportunities that you do get and you wanna try and get the most out of your group. And I think each day when you have a committed group that’s what you enjoy. You enjoy the challenge of it all. Each day you’re gonna be tested in a different way and if you love competition this is the best for competition. So we’re fortunate, we have a great group of guys and we work as hard as we can each and every day. Sometimes we fall short and the next day come back with more determination to fix it and get better. I think that’s where you get enjoyment and when you’re with a good group of people that feel that the team is the most important thing, that’s what makes it enjoyable.”

On Towns’ scoring fit and style of play:

“The faster you play, the better it is. In transition, it’s whoever is open. And then you play off of that from there. The guy [Towns] has averaged a lot of points all season long, so I don’t think it’s anything new. His body of work is what it is, and he’s been a really good player in the league for a long time, as has Mikal and OG. So we’ve got some primary scorers that can play off the ball, with the ball. You can go to them, and then the game will dictate what we do.”

On playing Brunson and Towns together:

“You always prioritize winning. Put the team first, but the majority of the time those guys are gonna finish together. They’ve played a lot of minutes together. And that’s the way we approach it. But both guys are team-first guys.”

On how he arrives at lineup decisions:

“I think you just take the information you have and you look at the groupings, what’s the best thing for the team. We always prioritize that. And there’s a lot of guys that are making sacrifices, and that’s not easy, but if you put the team first, I think good things come from that. So, I think we’re seeing that with this group.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On playing on Dominican Mother’s Day:

“My mom’s side of the family hit me up and told me they were going to be watching the game with my aunts. It just meant a lot that I was able to play on a day like today. Obviously, I didn’t know my mom was expecting a game like tonight, but I’m just happy that this team was able to get a win on her day.”

On what the fourth quarter came together and what it meant to him:

“[That fourth quarter was] an opportunity to utilize all those hours I put into the gym. The game wasn’t looking great for me as well. But for all of us, I just wanted to do whatever it takes to help put us in a position to win. It’s a testament to my teammates having trust in me and putting me in spots where I can succeed and utilize my talent. Shoutout to the guys in the locker room. It’s a great team win, but we gotta be better than we were tonight. Gotta find a way to get another win.”

On attacking that fourth quarter with urgency:

“Fourth quarter is different. It’s a whole ‘nother game. Forget that last game and those last three quarters and just focus on giving yourself a chance to win the game.”

On the locker room’s spirit and belief in each other:

“We’re actually that close in the locker room. When you’re down 20-plus, it’s a testament to the character of everyone in that locker room to not give up and continue to fight. So, I think this team has shown greatness all year. The Detroit series. The Boston series. Tonight was tonight we got to show that never-say-quit attitude. It’s a testament to everyone in the locker room.”

Jalen Brunson

On Towns’ takeover in Game 3:

“I mean, I saw the same thing you guys saw: I saw a guy go out there who did not want to lose, and so the way he just went out there and basically got that game for us was remarkable.”

On Towns starting slow, then finishing strong:

“There’s always gonna be a lot of things that’ll happen throughout a game. And so you can say, ‘Yeah, we can implement a plan to where he doesn’t have to wait until the fourth quarter,’ but everything happens throughout the game to where you have to respond, you have to react, you have to adjust. And so I think as a team, we got punched in the mouth early, and we found a way respond and stuck together. And sometimes going through that stuff makes us better.”

On the team fighting for Thibodeau as he is closer than ever to the Finals:

“He’s obviously been in a lot of battles. He’s been on different teams that have had different successes. We haven’t necessarily talked about it, but now that you ask that question, watching this man work tirelessly day in and day out, 364 days out of the year, he maybe takes one day off, it would mean a lot (to make the Finals). I know he’s not thinking about that, I know he’s not thinking about what it would mean to him, he’s just thinking about what can we do better in Game 4.”

On the Knicks still building team chemistry:

“It’s definitely an ongoing process. Obviously the longer you’re with your teammates, the more you understand them. The way I’ve been able to kind of connect with these guys on a daily basis definitely helps. It takes time. It takes time for teams and chemistry to bond and I feel like we have great chemistry, but we’re able to push each other out of our comfort zones and to make each other better, I think that’s when it takes another step.”

On facing adversity and dealing with it smoothly:

“In order to go through and do something special, you have to go through a lot of adversity, you have to go through a lot of questioning mentally internally if we’re gonna do this. It can make or break teams and I think what we did last night definitely helps us. I feel like internally we think we can do it, but when we’re actually going through it and when we actually do it in a time like this, like I said it brings us closer together.”

On the tired criticism of Tom Thibodeau:

“Yeah, absolutely, [the criticism is] definitely unfair. People are entitled to say and think what they want. For the most part, as a team as an organization, there’s always going to be a lot of noise, positive or negative. So it’s all about what we think and what we do. All about the work we put in, day in and day out. And trusting obviously our journey. So regardless of what people say we’re going to have each other’s backs.”

On what worked defensively for the Knicks in Game 3 and how they adjusted:

“I think obviously on the defensive side of the ball continue to fly around. And obviously we don’t want to have breakdowns, but when we do we’ve got to continue to fly and help each other out. From an individual standpoint, just giving my team more opportunities to shoot the ball and score the ball instead of turning the ball over. I think that’ll be a key for us. Limiting them in transition. They’re obviously a great transition team and I mean when they’re open they knock down threes. So we’ve got to contest as many shots as possible.”

Josh Hart

On his perspective of starting or not:

“Whoever won the championship five years ago, you have no idea who the starters are. You know that those guys won and they have that camaraderie and that connection for life. It doesn’t matter how many points you score. It doesn’t matter how many minutes you play. It doesn’t matter if you start. It depends on if you win. And at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing for me.”

On the comeback and team trust:

“Getting stops and then getting out, getting easy buckets. Obviously, KAT had it going. Just the fight, I think that was the biggest thing. We let it slip in the first half, we got down 20, but we continued to fight, continued to trust in each other, continued to communicate at a high level, and it just benefited us.”

Mikal Bridges

On Delon Wright’s professionalism:

“Just a true professional. Works hard every single day and got his name called and he’s ready for the moment.”

On what is behind the Knicks nearly-impecable road playoffs record:

“Home gives distractions and sometimes a lot of love—too much—and sometimes you’ve gotta go out there and feel like it’s you vs. everybody. And that’s what the road brings to you.”

Miles McBride

On the Knicks’ veterans and bench players contributing even when not playing:

“Every day they come in and put in the work. Just the leadership they have off the court, leading by example, and also talking to us when they’re not playing. It’s a testimony to their character and the way they approach the game. That’s the reason they’ve stuck around for so long.”

On the team’s resilience in the comeback:

“Honestly, keep fighting. The thing about us is we’re gonna fight ’til the end. We’ve given up leads, we know how the league works, where teams get comfortable. We just try to go out there and figure it out and stick together and keep fighting.”

Mitchell Robinson

On the team’s resilience:

“We’ve been there, we’ve been in those situations before. We stuck with it and continued to fight and didn’t give up and luckily we got the win.”

OG Anunoby

On the team’s mindset after being down in the series:

“Just knowing it’ll swing both ways. You’ll have a big win. You might have a tough loss. But you know you just keep going. It’s best of seven, so just keep playing and know that’s how the playoffs go.”

On the Knicks defense improving:

“I think it’s getting better and better each game. The Pacers—they play very fast, so sometimes it gets hard when a lot of things are going on, but the communication has picked up.”

On his shooting approach and confidence in Game 3:

“Just shooting my shot with confidence, not worrying about missing. Just shooting good shots and it will even out over time with a greater sample size. Just shooting the right shots, shooting with confidence and being ready to shoot, also.”

On putting the clamps on Pascal Siakam:

“Pascal is a great player. So, just after that Game 2, just trying to make it as difficult as possible. Maybe not help as much in certain situations and not give him easy looks or their shots. Just try to make it as difficult as possible and force him into uncomfortable possessions. Pascal is one of my great friends in the league. We were very close as teammates. He’s a great player and a great person, but we’re competing right now.”

Tyrese Haliburton

On his Game 3 performance and accountability:

“All four guys who played off the (Knicks) bench are really defensive guys, and they come in and wreak havoc. I thought we just didn’t do a good job of continuing to play fast. I felt like I did a poor job of keeping pace in the game, especially in the fourth there. I feel like I was walking the ball up every play. So I know it’s a big area of improvement for me.”

On taking full blame for the second-half struggles:

“Honestly, I think a lot of our offensive struggles in the second half will be due to me. I don’t think our execution was great. I didn’t do a great job of getting downhill and just making plays. I gotta do a better job there. I think I’m relied on a lot down the stretch of games to get guys in the right positions. I feel like I didn’t do, personally, a great job at that. Execution down the stretch we can definitely be better, and that starts with me. So, you live with it, you watch film, and you get better, and you prepare for Game 4.”

On the Pacers collective failure in Game 3:

“It’s definitely an area where I know when I watch film, I’m going to kick myself for, I’m already thinking about it, kicking myself for it. I just feel like we got kind of stagnant on that end. We had some missed shots, 5-for-25 from 3, that’s not ideal. So I know it’s a big area of improvement for me. I already know that’s what I’m going to see on the film. So I’ve gotta do a better job of keeping pace in the game. Obviously, a 42-point [second] half isn’t us. So we’ll see what we can do better there, and we’ll improve on it.”

On his father’s antics during the series against the Bucks ahead of pops’ return to the arena for Game 4:

“He needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there and I’ll come to him to celebrate. But the emotions of the game got excited there. I talked with him. I’ll talk with Giannis about it. I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there.”

Rick Carlisle

On the Knicks’ defensive personnel in the second half:

“They had a lot of their better defenders in the game in the second half, and that makes it harder. And so you’ve got to grind defensively to get rebounds. There’s a different element of grinding when you’re going against their better guys. We’re going to have to do better in a lot of those situations. And there were times we got good shots and just simply didn’t hit them.”

On Game 3 execution and loss:

“We did a poor job of closing the third quarter, and not a good enough start to the fourth quarter turned it into a real back-and-forth game. They executed down the stretch, and we did not execute well enough. So credit them for fighting hard, hanging in. We got a pretty deep, pretty good lead in the third quarter, but didn’t do a good enough job of attacking but also avoiding miscues. So, difficult loss.”

On handling adversity late in games:

“Look, we’re not gonna make excuses. I mean, we’ve come back from big leads, we lost the lead [Sunday]. Regardless of who’s out there, we gotta be able to attack better and do the things to maintain it and finish the game.”

On Aaron Nesmith’s injury:

“He’s sore, predictably (Monday), and he will likely be a game-time decision.”