Knicks’ comeback magic strikes again in Game 3 win over Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS — Maintain off on these obituaries. The Knicks all of the sudden have a pulse.

After one other playoff shocker, they’ve life within the Japanese Convention finals.

Wanting prepared for his or her funeral for many of the first half, they in some way rallied from a 20-point deficit for the third time on this wild and unpredictable postseason.

Karl-Anthony Cities led a frantic fourth-quarter rally and Jalen Brunson, on the bench a lot of the second half with foul bother, sank the game-winning basket within the Knicks’ pulsating 106-100 Sport 3 victory at a surprised Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

“I think this team has shown greatness all year,” Cities stated. “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.”

Cities scored 20 factors within the closing quarter and Brunson hit a floater within the lane with 1:17 left that snapped a 98-all tie. Each stars shook off their very own private struggles over the primary three quarters.

Josh Hart, coming off the bench for the primary time this season, and Brunson made six clutch free throws within the closing 19.6 seconds because the Knicks minimize the deficit within the collection to 2-1 and improved to 6-1 on the street within the playoffs.

Sport 4 is Tuesday night time.

Coach Tom Thibodeau switched up his beginning lineup, changing Hart with Mitchell Robinson, however it didn’t actually have an effect on the sport.

It was the Knicks defending within the second half like they hadn’t your entire collection and Cities coming alive when he was wanted most, scoring 15 factors within the first 3:58 of the fourth quarter, that flipped the sport.

Thibodeau did go deeper into his bench than he has thus far within the postseason as a result of foul bother, and Landry Shamet and Delon Wright rewarded him with high quality minutes in the course of the fourth-quarter rally.

“They’re really, really good pros,” Thibodeau stated. “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.”

Cities completed with 24 factors and 15 rebounds, Brunson added 23 and OG Anunoby scored 16. Hart had eight factors, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Tyrese Haliburton had 20 for the Pacers, who shot simply 5-of-25 from 3-point vary and have been outscored 36-20 within the closing 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 stated. “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 a lot of the night time, the Pacers appeared on their solution to a snug 3-0 collection. They led by 20 with 3:20 left within the first half and by 15 late within the third quarter. At one level, Cities and Brunson had mixed for extra turnovers (seven) than made subject targets (5).

Miles McBride scored seven straight factors late within the third to make it a 10-point sport and Cities turned unstoppable in the beginning of the fourth. He sank a 3-pointer off a Hart offensive rebound, scored on consecutive drives and hit two free throws.

When Cities adopted up one other 3-pointer with a three-point play, the Knicks have been up by 4 with 8:02 to go.

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“He was like a silent killer out there,” Robinson stated of Cities.

The Knicks had scored 25 of a potential 31 factors to take that aforementioned lead. Most of it got here with out Brunson. He was wanted late, and he got here by means of. Similar to all the opposite Knicks, who refuse to let this season die and not using a battle.

“It’s a great team win, but we gotta be better than we were tonight,” Cities stated. “Gotta find a way to get another win.”