At the Buzzer: R2G3 — Pacers 111, Knicks 106
Haliburton's 35 points. Siakam with nine points in the 4th. Turner's block. Nesmith's offensive rebound. Then, Nembhard's go-ahead 3-pointer. It took everyone for the Pacers to avoid a 3-0 hole.
How will the Pacers respond? That’s the big question.
The Knicks limp into Game 3 with four key players out, and the Pacers need a win to keep hope alive in the series seeing as how no team has ever come back from 0-3 in a best-of-seven series.
The game officials were James Capers, Kevin Scott, Brent Barnaky, Justin Van Duuyne (alternate)
The Knicks were without OG Anunoby (left hamstring strain), Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, Mitchell Robinson.
Message received by the NBA, and they responded by fining Rick Carlisle $35k.
Watch my live postgame show in the media player below:
🏀How it happened: The Knicks opened the game with an offensive rebound leading to a Josh Hart 3-pointer, but it was the Pacers who ended the game with a dagger. The Pacers changed up defensive assignments and put Aaron Nesmith on Jalen Brunson, the best player in this series, for his length.
Tyrese Haliburton came out firing and scored 10 of their eight of their first 18 points as the Pacers took an early 12-point lead, which ultimately was the largest of the game for either team. But the Knicks kept answering with forward Donte DiVincenzo. He scored seven straight points to erase the deficit and Alec Burks, who had played four minutes in the series, went off for 13 points in the second quarter. Both teams were shooting 54% and the Pacers’ lead was just five at the break — when it felt like it should be more like 10+.
DiVincenzo kept firing and hitting. He scored 17 of his 35 points in the third to help crush the Pacers’ in what usually is their most productive quarter. They outscored the Pacers 24-8 over the final 7:31 to go from down 11 to up five on the Pacers entering the final period. And there was even a small “let’s go Knicks” chant.
The fourth quarter was a grind. Both teams were tired, exhausted from the close battles and physical play. But especially the undermanned Knicks. Haliburton tweaked his right ankle, then Nesmith grabbed his right shoulder — but both players finished the game. Pascal Siakam had nine of his 26 in the quarter. The Pacers used a 11-1 spurt to take the lead as the Knicks went about six minutes without a field goal.
That was necessary response from the starters after being inserted back into the game earlier than normal, just 90 seconds into the period, after they had fallen behind by nine.
Brunson (26 points) made a huge 3-pointer with 42.4 seconds left to tie the game, but the Pacers had a great response. Nesmith batted the ball out with 30.5 seconds left, a monster offensive rebound that led to Andrew Nembhard — who was scoreless in the first 46 minutes — letting a step-back 3-pointer fly from 31 feet before the shot clock expired.
Ball game.
Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert were in the house and celebrated on the baseline. The Pacers survived another tight one. A lot of rest and massage therapy is needed for both teams due to the physicality and quick turnaround.