The Indiana Pacers were up by 20 points in the second quarter of Game 3 with the crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as loud as I’ve ever heard it. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were both dealing with major foul trouble throughout most of the game. Brunson was just 6 for 18 from the floor. The Pacers won the rebounding battle. The Pacers won the turnover battle. They attempted more free shows and made the exact same amount of field goals as the New York Knicks.
This was their game to lose. And, boy, did they.
The descent started at the end of the second quarter after a timeout when the Pacers took a 20-point lead with 3:20 left off of a Tyrese Haliburton steal and dunk. The Knicks finished with a 10-3 run with OG Anunoby scoring 5 points, Josh Hart causing a 3 on an offensive rebound and scoring in transition, and Mikal Bridges making a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left. What did the Pacers do in this stretch? Tony Bradley took a corner 3-pointer. Tyrese Haliburton turned the ball over. The Pacers were playing like they’d been the ones getting intoxicated at the Indy 500 a few hours ago. The one positive was drawing Brunson’s fourth foul but it seemed to be a blessing in disguise for the Knicks as they played much better defensively and they won his minutes on the bench by 12 in this game.
In the second half, the Pacers pace was nowhere to be found. The offensive process was awful. They scored just 42 points in the second half. While they kept a 10-point lead heading into the 4th quarter, it was another poor close to the third quarter that let it get that close after Aaron Nesmith sprained his ankle with six minutes left in the quarter.
This is how the plot was lost on offense in a nutshell:
– Brunson has 4 fouls
– Nesmith screens him onto Tyrese (good!)
– Turner screens him off from Tyrese (why?)
– Skip pass to try to beat the scram (ok)
– Misses the drop-off to Turner (ugh)
– Nesmith turns ankle (not good!) pic.twitter.com/kEoOXrxREI
— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) May 26, 2025
The Pacers were up 78-63 with 3:11 left in the third. Knicks outscored them 7-2 to end the quarter. Miles McBride, who had three first quarter fouls, scored 7 straight. The Pacers to end the quarter went as follows:
TJ McConnell turnover after he looked away from Tyrese Haliburton with Jalen Brunson on him and tried going the other direction with a poor pass.
Tony Bradley moving screen.
Obi Toppin called for a charge on a post-up.
TJ McConnell gets a layup blocked by Robinson which leads to a McBride 3.
Bennedict Mathurin with the easiest offensive foul call on a moving screen.
Pacers finally get a basket to end the quarter with a Turner dunk from a Mathurin assist.
In the fourth, KAT made up for his disaster performance on defense in Game 2 to start the quarter by just dominating offensively to start this one. He scored 20 points in the quarter and had completely erased the 10-point lead in less than 4 minutes. From there it was back and forth, the Pacers had their chances including a Myles Turner missed 3 with 22.1 seconds left with a chance at the lead. It didn’t drop. Hart got the rebound. Knicks win behind a 36-20 final 12 minutes.
It was the first clutch loss of the postseason for the Pacers. They’ve bounced back from a pair of poor Game 3 performances but this one certainly hits different than simply getting blown out, knowing you didn’t have it that night or didn’t play with the right level of intensity.
They had every chance to win this one, to put it out of reach, but they failed. They made just 5 of 25 3-pointers and the easy thing would be to say they win the game if they make their 3-pointers. The Knicks and Pacers making the same amount of field goals and free throws overall but six more of the field goals being 3s for the Knicks is the literal difference in the score but that’s just one of many reasons they lost the game. Poor closes to every quarter after the first, timely stretches of awful basketball, an injury to Nesmith that kept him out for about 12 minutes of action, an unusual amount of turnovers and being unable to take advantage of the Knicks. 15 turnovers for New York turned in to just 8 points for the Pacers, but the Knicks scored 22 on the Pacers 14. They weren’t a lot of live ball fast break chances, the Pacers dominated that category almost solely in the first half but the Knicks took every chance at a momentum swing and hit it.
As they look at Game 4, they’ll be hoping Nesmith’s ankle doesn’t swell up as sprains often do the next day. They have major questions about the bench and who they are able to count on. Bennedict Mathurin has been surpassed by Ben Sheppard in the rotation and hasn’t been a factor. Tony Bradley playing 15 minutes feels like something that isn’t sustainable and it showed when he inexplicably was guarding KAT at multiple points in the game including critical 4th quarter possessions. Does Jarace Walker get a look if Nesmith is out? They probably aren’t going to see Brunson go 6 for 18 again in this series and guarding him becomes increasingly difficult if Nesmith is unable to go.
They’ll watch film. They’ll find out what exactly caused their offensive collapse. They’ll make the needed adjustments and we’ll see how they respond in Game 4.
But a huge pit has been in my stomach since the Pacers lost this one. It was still there when I woke up this morning. I know they’re still up 2-1 with a Game 4 at home tomorrow. You’ll take that through three games against anybody but this was a golden opportunity to take complete command of the series with a 3-0 lead that no team has been able to comeback from in NBA history. Instead of ripping the Knicks hearts out, they gave them hope. If they don’t bounce back from this one and win the series, this is the game they’ll look back at that cost themselves a trip to the NBA Finals.
-#31-