Knicks surge past host Pacers to take Game 3

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and collected a game-high 15 points to help the New York Knicks notch a crucial 106-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night at Indianapolis.
Jalen Brunson scored 23 points despite 6-of-18 shooting but made all 10 free-throw attempts as the Knicks won for the first time in the best-of-seven series. OG Anunoby had 16 points and Mikal Bridges added 15 for third-seeded New York, which recovered from a 20-point, second-quarter deficit.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points and Myles Turner had 19 for Indiana, which opened the series with two road victories. Pascal Siakam had 17 points and TJ McConnell tallied 12.
Game 4 is Tuesday night at Indianapolis.
New York’s comeback was reminiscent of the Eastern Conference semifinals when the Knicks rallied from 20-point deficits in each of the first two games in Boston to earn victories en route to eventually winning the series in six games.
Indiana led most of the game but needed two free throws apiece from Turner and Siakam to tie the game at 98 with 1:37 left. Brunson hit a runner 20 seconds later to put New York back ahead.
Josh Hart made two free throws with 19.6 seconds left for the Knicks before Haliburton answered with two foul shots with 9.7 seconds left to pull Indiana within 102-100.
Brunson hit two free throws to make it a four-point margin with 8.1 seconds left, and Hart wrapped it up with two of his own with 2.6 seconds remaining.
New York trailed by 15 late in the third quarter and by 80-70 entering the fourth quarter, but Towns came racing out of the gates in the fourth quarter.
Towns scored 15 points in the period-opening 17-5 burst, including a three-point play to give the Knicks an 87-85 with 8:02 left, the team’s first lead since the first quarter.
Towns raised his final-quarter tally to 20 points when he drained a 30-foot, stepback 3-pointer while double-covered to give the Knicks a 94-90 lead with 5:10 remaining.
The Knicks made 43.6 percent of their shots in the game and were 11 of 32 from behind the arc.
Indiana shot 44.2 percent from the field, including a shaky 5 of 25 from 3-point range. The Pacers were stellar in transition with a 16-2 edge in fast-break points.
McConnell scored 10 first-half points as the Pacers grabbed a 58-45 halftime lead. Brunson had 11 in the half for the Knicks.
The Pacers ran off 13 consecutive points in the second quarter to land their biggest lead. Haliburton capped the spurt with a 3-pointer and a steal for an easy dunk to make it 55-35 with 3:20 to go in the half.