KARL-Anthony Towns found himself on the bench more than his liking in Game 2 and was enduring a poor outing Sunday night (Monday in Manila) with just four points through three quarters.
Then the fourth quarter began and the New York Knicks star was revving faster than the cars running at the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier in the day.
Once Towns was running hot, there was no putting on the brakes. He scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and collected a game-high 15 rebounds to help the Knicks notch a crucial 106-100 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The big fourth quarter marked just the second time a New York player scored 20 points in a quarter in a playoff game and in the process, it kept the Knicks in the series. Jalen Brunson set the franchise record with 21 in a quarter against the Pacers in Game 1 of last season’s conference semifinals.
“When I got a chance to do what I do in the fourth, I was going to make sure I seized the opportunity,” Towns said. “I just wanted to go there to give our team a chance to win. I’m just happy I was able to do that.”
Towns flirted with overheating when he scored 15 points in the first 3:58 of the quarter to give New York an 87-85 lead. But his offensive explosion was the fuel the Knicks needed.
“KAT is a very gifted scorer,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said of Towns, who played Towns fewer than 28 minutes in Game 2’s 114-109 loss. “He can score three levels—he’s comfortable at the 3-point line, he’s comfortable putting it on the floor and he’s comfortable playing back to the basket. As long as he stays aggressive, it’s a huge plus for us.”
New York will attempt even the best-of-seven series at 2-2 on Tuesday night (Wednesday in Manila) at Indianapolis.
“Unpredictable,” Brunson said of the series. “Obviously, no lead is safe. Both teams are going to fight until the buzzer.”
Brunson scored 23 points despite 6-of-18 shooting but made all 10 free-throw attempts for New York, which recovered from a 20-point, second-quarter deficit. OG Anunoby had 16 points and Mikal Bridges added 15 for the third-seeded Knicks.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points and Myles Turner had 19 for fourth-seeded Indiana, which opened the series with two road victories. Pascal Siakam had 17 points and TJ McConnell tallied 12 for the Pacers, who had just 42 second-half points.
“We didn’t do a good enough job of continuing to play fast,” Haliburton said. “I felt I did a poor job of keeping pace in the game, especially in the fourth. . . A 42-point half isn’t us.”
