Tale of Two Halves: Knicks Rally From 20 Point First Half Deficit to Edge Pacers
The New York Knicks rallied from a 20 point deficit for the third time in the 2025 playoffs, saving their season with a 106-100 win over the Indiana Pacers in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks can reclaim homecourt advantage by winning game four, but if they lose then they fall into a 3-1 deficit that is almost always a death sentence. The Knicks outscored the Pacers 61-42 in the second half and they held the Pacers to their lowest full game scoring total in the 2025 playoffs; the Pacers had scored at least 114 points in 10 of their first 12 playoff games this year and they won all 10 of those games, but they are now 0-3 when they score 104 points or less.
New York Coach Tom Thibodeau, who changes his lineups about as often as Halley's Comet appears, started Mitchell Robinson in place of Josh Hart to add size and paint defense. Robinson's numbers don't jump out of the boxscore (six points, six rebounds) but he had a +1 plus/minus number in 29 minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns was missing in action (or inaction to be precise) during the first three quarters when he had as many fouls (four) as points, but he poured in 20 fourth quarter points as the Knicks won the final stanza, 36-20. Towns finished with game-high totals in points (24), rebounds (15), turnovers (six), and fouls (five, a total matched by three other players). Foul trouble limited Jalen Brunson to 31 minutes and he struggled with his field goal shooting (6-18), but he made all 10 of his free throws to finish with 23 points, including the floater that gave the Knicks the lead for good with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter. OG Anunoby (16 points) and Mikal Bridges (15 points) made solid contributions, and Hart played his usual all-out hustle game with eight points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers in scoring (20 points) and assists (game-high seven). Myles Turner added 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots. Pascal Siakam did not come close to matching his playoff career-high 39 point outburst in game two, finishing with 17 points and a game-worst -21 plus/minus number. Game one hero Aaron Nesmith had eight points and seven rebounds; he had 20 points combined in games two and three after scoring a playoff career-high 30 points in game one.
Thibodeau's lineup change did not pay immediate dividends; the Pacers led 30-26 at the end of the first quarter, and then pushed that margin to 20 (55-35) with 3:20 remaining in the second quarter. However, the Knicks closed the first half with a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to a manageable 13 points, and then the Knicks won the third quarter 25-22 to set up Towns' fourth quarter onslaught.
The Pacers squandered a golden opportunity to knock out the Knicks, and after enjoying a 2-0 series lead plus a 20 point second quarter lead in game three they now face the reality that overall they have outscored the Knicks by just two points in three games; if the Knicks had not thrown away game one then they would enjoy a 2-1 series advantage.
"Momentum" is one of the biggest myths about the NBA playoffs; if any team had momentum in this series it was the Pacers before the Knicks took over in the second half of game three, but game four starts 0-0 and it will be interesting to see if the Knicks continue to play with high energy and great physicality or if the Pacers get their running game into high gear while rediscovering the three point shooting that abandoned them in game three (5-25, .200). I picked the Knicks to win in seven games, and the Knicks are one road win away from putting the series on that track; paradoxically, the Knicks are just 3-5 at home in the 2025 playoffs while posting a 6-1 road record.
Labels: Indiana Pacers, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton
posted by David Friedman @ 2:47 AM
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