INDIANAPOLIS — Hold off on those obituaries. The Knicks suddenly have a pulse.
After another playoff shocker, they have life in the Eastern Conference finals.
Looking ready for their funeral for most of the first half, they somehow rallied from a 20-point deficit for the third time in this wild and unpredictable postseason.
Karl-Anthony Towns led a frantic fourth-quarter rally and Jalen Brunson, on the bench much of the second half with foul trouble, sank the game-winning basket in the Knicks’ pulsating 106-100 Game 3 victory at a stunned Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“I think this team has shown greatness all year,” Towns said. “The Detroit series. The Boston series. Tonight we got to show that never-say-quit attitude. It’s a testament to everyone in the locker room.”
Towns scored 20 points in the final quarter and Brunson hit a floater in the lane with 1:17 left that snapped a 98-all tie. Both stars shook off their own personal struggles over the first three quarters.
Josh Hart, coming off the bench for the first time this season, and Brunson made six clutch free throws in the final 19.6 seconds as the Knicks cut the deficit in the series to 2-1 and improved to 6-1 on the road in the playoffs.
Game 4 is Tuesday night.
Coach Tom Thibodeau switched up his starting lineup, replacing Hart with Mitchell Robinson, but it didn’t really have an impact on the game.
It was the Knicks defending in the second half like they hadn’t the entire series and Towns coming alive when he was needed most, scoring 15 points in the first 3:58 of the fourth quarter, that flipped the game.
Thibodeau did go deeper into his bench than he has so far in the postseason due to foul trouble, and Landry Shamet and Delon Wright rewarded him with quality minutes during the fourth-quarter rally.
“They’re really, really good pros,” Thibodeau said. “When I say that, I mean they do the right thing every day. That goes a long way. It’s not just lip service, it’s doing the actual work, which I think is important.”
Towns finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, Brunson added 23 and OG Anunoby scored 16. Hart had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Tyrese Haliburton had 20 for the Pacers, who shot just 5-of-25 from 3-point range and were outscored 36-20 in the final 12 minutes.
“We talked about the biggest part of our comeback was, we could quickly start to point fingers or we could quickly start to turn on each other,” Brunson said. “But we got together as a team, we made sure that everyone was encouraging each other. Keep fighting, keep chipping away. We did that. Just proud of the way we responded. We needed it.”
For much of the night, the Pacers seemed on their way to a comfortable 3-0 series. They led by 20 with 3:20 left in the first half and by 15 late in the third quarter. At one point, Towns and Brunson had combined for more turnovers (seven) than made field goals (five).
Miles McBride scored seven straight points late in the third to make it a 10-point game and Towns became unstoppable at the start of the fourth. He sank a 3-pointer off a Hart offensive rebound, scored on consecutive drives and hit two free throws.
When Towns followed up another 3-pointer with a three-point play, the Knicks were up by four with 8:02 to go.
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“He was like a silent killer out there,” Robinson said of Towns.
The Knicks had scored 25 of a possible 31 points to take that aforementioned lead. Most of it came without Brunson. He was needed late, and he came through. Just like all the other Knicks, who refuse to let this season die without a fight.
“It’s a great team win, but we gotta be better than we were tonight,” Towns said. “Gotta find a way to get another win.”
