HG08 Knicks vs Pacers: New York takes the lead in the third game to kick off the series

The Eastern Conference Finals continued to be unpredictable, with the Knicks 20 points behind in the end of the second quarter but catching up in Game 3.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers faced the New York Knicks at the Gainbridge Arena on Sunday, but ironically, the Pacers slowed down and eventually failed to win their scheduled title. The Pacers were the most offensive team of the four remaining teams in the Eastern Conference Finals, but lost to the Knicks 100-106 in Game 3, setting a playoff low. This team, which averaged 118.9 points per 100 rounds in the first 13 games of the playoffs, is obviously far from meeting this standard.

The breakdown so far is simple:

When the Pacers play against the Bucks, Cavaliers or Knicks, their score reaches or exceeds 114 points, they have a record of 10 wins and 0 losses. When they scored less, they had a record of 0 wins and 3 losses.

Led by Indianapolis 500 champion Alex Palu, the Pacers' performance somewhat replicated the performance of the Brick Factory team back then. They made 25 three-pointers but missed 20 shots, which was a three-game losing streak: the number of three-pointers, the number of shots and the percentage of hits were the lowest in their three rounds. Until Sunday, they had only 14 hits per game.

Of course, New York is worthy of praise, while Indiana deserves even more blame. The Knicks are on the verge of collapse after losing their first and second games at Madison Square Garden. If the team's decline continues in the summer, they will face severe criticism and may even face complete adjustments.

They were 20 points behind in the second quarter, scoring king Jaylen Brunson was in a foul and big man Carl Anthony Towns was mostly out of the game.

However, they and enthusiastic fans who managed to grab the Pacers' home tickets were revived again when they were 1-2 behind in the seven-game four-winning game. Here are five highlights of the New York Knicks’ wonderful reversal on the eve of their fourth game on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, TNT).

1. The return of the Zombies is almost a common occurrence now. The Pacers' performance in Game 1 was impressive, with their strong counterattack from a clearly disadvantaged state in the final minutes, dragging the score into overtime and ultimately winning, which also seemed to have affected the Pacers' victory in Game 2. What will the

NY counterattack bring now, which is worth looking forward to. Don't forget that in the first two games of the semi-finals, the Knicks finally overcame their opponent's dilemma when the Boston Celtics were once 20 points behind. Today, they have become the only team in NBA history to complete three such big reversals in the playoffs.

They are not trying to dig such a hole again, but if they do, they will certainly not lack confidence.

Brunson called this playoff round "unpredictable". The key to Sunday, he said, was that the Knicks were assured each other in the locker room during the break that they would not feel stressed by the score gap.

"You guys will start attacking each other soon," Brunson said. "But we discussed it together as a team. It's an emotional game. It's a game." The Knicks played a 10-3 climax before the half-time break and narrowed the gap to 7 points, which was very helpful for the Knicks. They scored only three points in the third quarter, but in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, they beat the Pacers 17-5.

"I know you roll your eyes when we say it's safe to have no lead," said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. "But it's safe to have no lead. This will happen as long as you relax a little bit."

2. KAT Saves himself and the team with a life He didn't use up those nine points, but the nickname "KAT" did contribute one of those points in the fourth quarter. So far, he only scored 4 points, including zero points in the first quarter. He made 2 of 8 shots, the Knicks are moving forward rapidly towards a 0-3-departure situation, and the fate of elimination follows.

If this happens, who do you think talk shows and tabloids will criticize?

Downs ensured that the game would not lose, and he grabbed the throat of the game. He scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, which was on par with the Pacers' overall score. He made 9 shots in this quarter, hit 6 goals, conceded only 1 goal for four three-pointers, and conceded only 1 goal for six free throws. He grabbed 8 rebounds, making himself difficult to defend. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle chose Miles Turner and Tony Bradley, which does look like that.

Before that, Brunson, OG Anunobi and Mikal Bridges contributed a lot of points to the Knicks, but they couldn't stop Towns from attacking.

"The team's motto is 'selfless players'," Thibodeau said. "When someone starts playing, you have to try to keep him going. The key is to find an effective way."

3. News: The Knicks have launched 9 players

New York fans are no different from Thibodeau's fans who previously played for Chicago and Minnesota. They are anxious and angry at the pressure Thiboddeau puts on several key players, usually the team's starters.

In the playoffs, most coaches will reduce their rotation, but Thibodeau is rarely surpassed. In the first 101 minutes of the series, the first and second games, he activated eight players, except for the first game Deron Wright played for only 26 seconds.

Okay, let's take a look at Sunday's game statistics. Thibodeau played for 9 minutes and avoided the time limit. Wright joined the rotation lineup and played for more than 13 minutes. The Knicks coach even deliberately activated veteran defender Landry Shamet, playing for more than 11 minutes..

Even though Brunson was in a foul dilemma, it still felt strange to see that he had not been there for a long time in New York. In the first 14 games of the playoffs, he averaged nearly 39 minutes of playing time. This time he almost failed to break through 30 minutes.

Brunson's offense against the Knicks was crucial. But his value to the Knicks defense is far less than that of Brunson. This time, New York scored -6 points when their All-Star point guard was on the court, and New York scored +12 points in 17:29 seconds after he got off the court.

Carlisle did not name it, but he noticed the difference in defensive ability of the Knicks. "They sent a lot of players with better defensive capabilities in the second half. It made the game even harder," he said.

Wright averaged +2. Shamet? +12, best Knicks. So far, he only played 30 minutes in the entire playoffs.

Oh, basket protector Mitchell Robinson started Game 3 in place of Josh Hart, a move that paid off early, with the Knicks center scoring six points and four rebounds in the first quarter.

Is this guy named Thibodeau getting a little crazy?

4. Nesmith was injured, and the Pacers' enthusiasm dissipated. Aaron Nesmith stunned the game with an abnormal score blitz in the first game, and in the Pacers' dazzling reversal, he made six consecutive three-pointers in the final quarter. But his greatest value lies in his defense and the unparalleled resilience in the team's locker room.

The 6-foot-5-inch (about 1.9 meters) winger's main role in this series is to mark Brunson. But he stepped on Brunson's foot while running the bottom line with the ball, spraining his right ankle. Nesmith limped away with 6 minutes and 6 seconds left in the third quarter, when the Pacers led 70-57. When he returned with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter, he missed a little over 11 minutes of playtime, with the Knicks leading 89-88 and leading the home team with a 32-18 score.

As the ace defensive player turns into ace bandage, Andrew Nemhard misses a shot, Ben Shepard gets into foul trouble, Tony Bradley may have been on the court for too long, Carlisle goes through some of the “out of control” rotations he said before the game.

5. In the crucial fourth game, the situation became increasingly tense

Neismith's ankle injury will become a hot topic in the next 48 hours. Pacers performed very badly outside the three-point line tonight, as did Pascal Siakam; he scored only 17 points, but the Knicks scored 21 points higher than the Pacers when the leepy forward was on the court.

For New York, the gap between 2 wins and 1 loss and 3 wins and 0 losses is crucial. Regardless of the outcome on Tuesday, they will at least drag the Pacers back to Madison Square Garden to fight for at least another win and have a chance to improve their 3-5 home record.

Indiana fought back strongly against the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the last round. Although she lost the third game at home, she defeated her opponent by 20 points in the fourth game. However, finding patterns that can last is not easy, as neither of these extremely resilient teams look like opponents who have been stabbed through the heart.