Pacers lose momentum and huge lead against Knicks: ‘We just gotta play our way’

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INDIANAPOLIS — For about 35 minutes Sunday night, the Indiana Pacers looked like they were going to cruise to a 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

They led the New York Knicks by 20 points in the second quarter and by 15 late in the third. But in the fourth quarter, the Pacers’ offense stalled, and they finally found themselves on the wrong end of a double-digit comeback as the Knicks rallied for the 106-100 win.

“We did a poor job of closing the third quarter, and not a good enough start to the fourth quarter turned it into a real back-and-forth game,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “They executed down the stretch, and we did not execute well enough. So credit them for fighting hard, hanging in. We got a pretty deep, pretty good lead in the third quarter, but didn’t do a good enough job of attacking but also avoiding miscues. So, difficult loss.”

With 6:06 remaining in the third quarter, Aaron Nesmith turned his right ankle when he jumped to throw a pass and landed awkwardly. Nesmith went down briefly before his teammates helped him up and Pacers trainers rushed to help. Unable to put weight on his leg, Nesmith was helped to the locker room. The injury to Nesmith, one of Indiana’s best defenders, seemed to turn the tide as New York climbed back into the game.

Nesmith returned with about seven minutes left in the fourth, but the game was already starting to trend in New York’s favor. Carlisle said he’d gotten word Nesmith was “good to go” and “moving with limitation,” but after the game said he’d know more Monday about Nesmith’s status going forward.

“If you lose a guy like that, it affects your ability to close a quarter,” Carlisle said. “So maybe there’s a factor there. But we’re not going to make excuses. We’ve come back from big leads. We lost the lead today. Regardless of who’s out there, we got to be able to attack better and do the things to maintain it and finish the game.”

Coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks switched up their lineup in Game 3. Big man Mitchell Robinson started in place of Josh Hart, who came off the bench with Miles McBride, Delon Wright and Landry Shamet. It marked the first time in the series that Thibodeau utilized nine players. The additions of Wright and Shamet helped swing the game defensively for New York in the second half, and the Pacers had no answer for them. Indiana was held to just 42 points total in the third and fourth quarters.

“They had a lot of their better defenders in the game in the second half, and that makes it harder,” Carlisle said. “And so you’ve got to grind defensively to get rebounds. There’s a different element of grinding when you’re going against their better guys. We’re going to have to do better in a lot of those situations. And there were times we got good shots and just simply didn’t hit them.”

In the first half, Indiana shot poorly from 3, but made 51.3 percent (20-of-39) inside the arc. Of their 58 first-half points, 24 came in the paint and 14 were off the fast break. The Pacers were moving the ball with ease and went into the break looking unstoppable.

The Pacers made 5-of-19 shots in the fourth quarter and just 1-of-8 3s.They finished 5-of-25 on 3s for the game, making just two after halftime.

The Knicks had gotten into foul trouble early, but Indiana couldn’t capitalize. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson both finished the game with five fouls.

Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 20 points, but there were no late-game heroics from him as the game started to slow down in New York’s favor and Indiana saw its lead slip. After the game, Haliburton took ownership of the loss.

“All four guys who played off the (Knicks) bench are really defensive guys, and they come in and wreak havoc,” said Haliburton, who also had four rebounds, seven assists and three steals. “I thought we just didn’t do a good job of continuing to play fast. I felt like I did a poor job of keeping pace in the game, especially in the fourth there. I feel like I was walking the ball up every play. So I know it’s a big area of improvement for me.”

After Pascal Siakam went off for 39 points in Game 2, he was held to a relatively quiet 17 points as the Knicks managed to keep him from making an impact offensively late.

“We just gotta play our way,” Siakam said. “(Haliburton’s) our leader in terms of getting us on the floor and where we need to be, but we just gotta run better. We just didn’t have the kind of ball movement and everything as much as we usually do. So we gotta fix that.”

Myles Turner, who missed a 3-pointer in the fourth to give Indiana a one-point lead, finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists. Point guard TJ McConnell added 12 points off the bench.

The Pacers likely won’t shoot as poorly from 3 in Game 4. But they’ll need to find answers for the Knicks’ newfound defensive bench strength and maintain their “wear-down effect” high-speed pace to keep the Knicks on their heels. Indiana will also need to play a cleaner game and try to keep New York off the free-throw line. The Knicks made 27 of their 30 free-throw attempts.

The loss continues Indiana’s trend in these playoffs of losing in Game 3. They have lost Game 3 in all three series, including the last two at home. The loss Sunday night may not yet be a cause for concern, though, as they’ve rebounded in Game 4 each time.

(Photo of Tyrese Haliburton and Mikal Bridges: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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