Being down by 20 points on the road for the New York Knicks is something that isn’t new to the team. Alas, it proved to be real when they also overcame that same deficit this time against the Indiana Pacers – with their backs against the walls and the season dangerously on the line, the Knicks showed life when it mattered most.

The Pacers have been notorious all playoffs when it comes to pulling off stunners and upsets in their games – and have done just that in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. But before they could go on and spin up a huge finish in Game 3, The Knicks responded in the second half and went on a courageous run that saw them get back on track. This was a chance that the team had been waiting for, and now this is starting to become a series.

Indiana has been in the driver’s seat this series for the first two games, and it looked like the same in Game 3 as they erupted for a 28-19 run in the second quarter. None of this was quite expected to begin with, and yet the Knicks managed to keep their cards on the table in what seems to be the most important victory of their playoff run.

A Slugfest from Three

No team in the Conference Finals has shot well from three in this year’s edition. Both teams in the West are shooting just close to 30% from the field, and neither have the two teams in the East has done any better. In this game, the Knicks shot 34.4% with 11 threes made off 32 attempts. The Pacers, on the other hand, struggled mightily to shoot any three-pointers as they went 5-of-25 in that stretch of Game 3.

Tyrese Haliburton was off and finished with 20 points and six assists – far from his usual numbers of high-volume assists. Pascal Siakam, who had a massive Game 2 performance with 39 points, ended up with 17 points and four rebounds. No other Pacers player scored more than 20 points by the end of the game.

While it was a slugfest from three, the free throws have seen a massive galore. A total of 63 shots from the charity stripe were attempted in the game, with both teams making 27 each.

A Fueled Comeback

New York was down heading into the fourth quarter, only to claw their way back with impressive performances from both Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. KAT was scoring one bucket after another in the fourth before eventually cutting into the Indiana lead with his athleticism – from grinding into the paint all the way to drilling threes, it has been a big game for him with 24 points and 15 rebounds – leading all scorers in the game.

Brunson, on the other hand, came alive in the closing moments of the game as he helped New York keep its small lead by the end of the game. The Clutch Player of the Year was able to convert multiple buckets down the stretch to keep Indiana from coming back as they did in the past few games.

New York also played nine-deep in its roster for the first time, which was really quite a different look considering that no starter played 40 minutes of action in this game. Fatigue has been a huge factor in the Knicks’ struggles, and it seemed that they managed that well this time.