Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks were able to pull off an improbable Game 3 win in the Eastern Conference Finals on the road against the Indiana Pacers.
After dropping the first two games at Madison Square Garden, Game 3 was as close to a must-win scenario as any team can get without being in an elimination game. Going down 3-0 in the series would have been almost impossible to come back from.
Early on in Game 3, it looked like the Pacers were poised to take that stranglehold lead. At one point in the first half, Indiana was up by 20 points. The halftime lead was 13 over the Knicks.
Despite holding that lead, the Pacers were unable to keep a hold of the game.
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New York, led by Karl-Anthony Towns, stormed back and ended up winning by a final score of 106-100. For Indiana, it was a demoralizing loss. As for the Knicks, it was the kind of game that can completely turn a series around.
In Game 1, it was New York who suffered a massive late-game collapse. Tyrese Haliburton, the star point guard for the Pacers, summed that collapse up perfectly by flashing the "choke" sign that was made famous by Reggie Miller against the Knicks back in the day.
This time, it was Indiana who choked away a massive opportunity to get one way away from the NBA Finals. Now, the Pacers need to find a way to regroup immediately or risk letting a championship opportunity slip through their fingers.
Following the huge win for New York, Brunson spoke out with a strong five-word message.
"Unpredictable," he said. "No lead is safe."
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Rick Carlisle, Indiana head coach, spoke out with a message after the game as well. He revealed where his team let the game slip.
"Poor job of closing the third quarter and not a good enough start of the fourth quarter," he said. "Turned it into a real back and forth game... and we did not execute enough."
Game 4 between the Pacers and Knicks will be played in Indiana on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET. With another win, New York would have completely taken hold of the series once again. Indiana is now facing a similar "must-win" scenario before heading back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2025 at 9:49 AM.