The Knicks have life.
They can thank Karl-Anthony Towns for that.
After suffering fourth-quarter collapses in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks reversed the script Sunday with a come-from-behind 106-100 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Towns’ 20 fourth-quarter points fueled the Knicks’ victory on a night they were down by 20 in the first half and by 10 going into the fourth quarter.
Jalen Brunson’s tie-breaking floater with 1:17 remaining gave the Knicks a 100-98 lead and held up as the game-winner.
The Knicks now trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
“Anytime you can win, it’s a good feeling,” Towns said during a postgame interview on TNT. “So down 2-0, finding a way to win tonight should raise our confidence, raise the morale of the team.”
Towns entered the fourth with only four points on 2-of-8 shooting, but he opened the quarter with a 3-pointer and scored on four of the Knicks’ first six possessions, all with Brunson on the bench.
Brunson checked back in at the 8:48 mark, and Towns scored on the next two possessions — with another 3-pointer and a driving and-1 dunk — to give the Knicks an 87-85 lead. That was their first lead since the first quarter.
The Knicks led 89-88 when Brunson’s fifth foul forced him back to the bench with 7:03 left in the game. He did not return until there was 1:37 to go.
But Towns’ shot-making — and a tightened-up team defense — kept the Knicks afloat. Towns shot 6-of-9 from the field in the fourth and finished with a game-high 24 points and 15 rebounds.
“Shoutout to the Dominicans, man, on Dominican Mother’s Day,” said Towns, who lost his mother in 2020 to complications from COVID-19.
It was a night of redemption for the All-Star, who spent nearly seven minutes of Game 2’s fourth quarter on the bench. He was a -20 that night and struggled defensively.
“When I got a chance tonight to do what I do in the fourth, I made sure I was gonna seize the opportunity,” Towns said. “I just wanted to go out there and give our team a chance to win.”
It was also a night of redemption for the Knicks after they blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and faltered defensively again in the fourth quarter of Game 2.
After Brunson’s go-ahead basket on Sunday, the Knicks made all of their free throws down the stretch — something they failed to do in Game 1. Brunson finished with 23 points on 6-of-18 shooting.
“We’re built on togetherness,” Brunson said on TNT, referring to his team’s efforts with him on the bench.
The Knicks hope to become the first team in NBA history to win a conference finals after losing the first two games at home.
Seeking a spark after those losses, Knicks head coach Thibodeau inserted center Mitchell Robinson into his Game 3 starting lineup in place of Josh Hart.
The Knicks’ starters were outscored by 29 points over the first two games, and Indiana jumped out to a first-quarter lead both nights. Robinson, with his relentless rebounding and rim protection, had posted a plus/minus of +41 off the bench this postseason.
Still, it was a bold move considering the Knicks hadn’t strayed from a starting five of Brunson, Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Towns all season.
The decision paid early dividends as Robinson collected a pair of offensive rebounds and turned both into put-backs, helping the Knicks take an 11-6 lead through five minutes.
Robinson played nearly the first 11 minutes, giving the Knicks six points and four rebounds before taking his first breather. The Knicks stuck with their new starting lineup until the 5:36 mark of the first quarter, when Hart checked in for Towns.
The Pacers started 2-of-11 from the field, but it wasn’t long before Indiana’s high-powered offense found its footing.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Myles Turner and Ben Sheppard put Indiana up 16-15 for its first lead, and the Pacers led 30-26 after one quarter.
Towns did not score in the first quarter for the second game in a row.
Indiana kept coming in the second, scoring on six consecutive possessions in a three-minute span. T.J. McConnell gave the Pacers a boost off the bench, scoring or assisting on four baskets as Indy went up 42-32.
In another swing, Indiana challenged a shooting foul called against Tyrese Haliburton on a Towns dunk. The call was overturned, and Towns was charged with the foul — his third. He checked out with 6:10 before halftime and spent the rest of the quarter on the bench.
It unraveled for the Knicks shortly thereafter.
About four minutes before halftime, Haliburton stripped the ball from Brunson and found Obi Toppin for an alley-oop dunk in transition, putting the Pacers up by 15 points.
On the next possession, Haliburton pulled up and drilled a 3-pointer.
Haliburton then jumped an errant pass from Hart and turned it into another fastbreak dunk — capping a 13-0 run that put the Pacers up 55-35 with 3:20 before halftime.
Indiana led 58-45 after a second quarter in which it shot 10-of-16 from the field, forced six turnovers, scored 11 fast-break points and outscored the Knicks, 28-19.
The Pacers took a 16-point lead at the 8:02 mark in the third, and they led 78-63 with under three minutes left in the quarter. But Miles McBride scored seven quick points, cutting the Knicks’ deficit to 80-70 entering the fourth.
The Knicks then outscored Indiana 36-20 in the fourth, going 9-of-19 from the field while limiting the Pacers to 5-of-19 shooting.
Hart played the full fourth quarter, during which he recorded four points, five rebounds and two assists.
The Knicks also overcame 20-point deficits in Games 1 and 2 of their second-round series against the Boston Celtics, with both instances coming on the road. The Knicks are now 6-1 on the road this postseason.
Sunday’s stunner was especially crucial, considering an NBA team has never come back from an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
The Knicks will look to even the series in Game 4 in Indiana on Tuesday night.