Inside the NBA: Knicks-Pacers ‘defies description’ as New York pulls within 2-1

INDIANAPOLIS — Credit first, blame later, fix it all as quickly as you can after that.

That was the Indiana Pacers’ process in working through the whys of their blown lead against the Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

After grabbing a 2-0 series advantage by winning both games in New York, the Pacers were looking on course to sweep when they pushed out front 55-35 deep into the second quarter Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. True to their nickname and the Indy 500 race held earlier in the day, they played fast, shot well and had the Knicks on their heels.

With the fat lead, though, something changed. Indiana slowed down. They sought out favorable matchups rather than challenging whomever, wherever on the offensive end. They nearly took on their frazzled opponents’ personality.

“There’s plenty of times when we’re walking the ball up the floor as if we’re the Knicks,” Indiana center Myles Turner said Monday, when his team broke down video ahead of Tuesday’s Game 4 (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

“We didn’t play fast enough. We built our brand and made our way getting up and down and being a fast-paced team, and we didn’t execute that way.”

Not even, he added, “getting the ball inbounds fast enough.”

New York earned its 106-100 comeback victory by the plays it made and moments when it stymied the Pacers. This is, after all, a team that has dug out of 20-point holes in three of its past nine games, all on the road.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a fourth quarter for the ages, scoring 20 of his 24 points in that period, single-handedly matching Indiana’s output. Foul trouble for Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ spark plug, became almost a defense-for-offense swap that tipped in New York’s favor.

And Josh Hart, who yielded his starting spot to big man Mitchell Robinson in coach Tom Thibodeau’s search for a feistier start, was nearly as good near the end as Towns. The versatile 6-foot-4 Hart didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter but worked and hustled his way to a plus-16 rating in those 12 minutes.

The Pacers gradually hand over a 20-point lead in Game 3 as the Knicks win on the road to pull within 2-1.

Still, the Knicks’ efforts would not have been enough if not for some complicity from Indiana. And it came in the worst possible ways, at the worst possible times.

The Pacers, who demonstrated poise and resiliency against the Bucks, the Cavaliers and the Knicks with rallies in each of their three playoff series, did the opposite on Sunday. They sputtered and shut down when it mattered most, in the waning minutes of quarters.

• Over the final 3:20 of the second, Indiana was outscored 10-3 while shooting 0-for-5. That allowed the Knicks to whittle the deficit from 20 to 13 heading into halftime, a welcome psychological boost.
• To close the third, the Pacers turned over the ball five times in the last 3:11 and was outscored 7-2. Their lead was down to 10, 80-70.
• They trailed with 3:11 left in the fourth but only by two. Then they missed their final five field-goal attempts and was outscored 10-6.

Coaches everywhere, and Indiana’s Rick Carlisle is no exception, preach staying focused at the starts and the ends of quarters, certainly halves.

“It’s an execution thing,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to recognize the situations. If it’s 2-for-1 [shot clock opportunity] we’ve got to time it right and execute better. If it’s something else, we’ve got to do whatever that situation calls for better.”

He also said: “Aggression level has got to be better. Tempo’s got to be better. Defense has got to be better. Rebounding’s got to be better.”

It’s human nature, Pacers guard T.J. McConnell concurred, to try to nurse a fat lead rather than continue doing the things that built it. Teams start to play the clock more. Players look to exploit individual matchups. Playing fast can start to feel reckless, even when it’s hard-wired into everything Indiana does.

“Our superpower is our speed and our depth, and our ability to not get tired,” McConnell said. “I don’t think we did that well. “When you have a lead like that, I would say some ‘comfortability’ sets in. We can’t allow that.”

Aaron Nesmith, a key contributor to the Pacers’ 2-1 series lead, sprains his ankle late in Game 3, leaving his status in doubt.

It’s very much a learned behavior in the modern NBA, though, that compels a team misfiring from 3-point range to continue. The Pacers, who ranked ninth in 3-point accuracy during the season, made only three of their 13 tries in the first half.

Did that prompt their shooters to perhaps attack the paint, to draw fouls, pressure the defense and get some short-distance satisfaction? Nah, the Pacers launched 12 more in the second half and made two.

“Me personally, that never enters my mindset,” said Turner, who hoisted a couple in the final minutes when a 2-pointer could have tied the game. “If I have a good look, I’m shooting the ball. I encourage my teammates to do the same.”

Fine, do the same. Just hope for a different result.

* * *

Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.