The New York Knicks averted disaster by beating the Indiana Pacers 106-100 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. The Knicks won despite being down 20, and Jalen Brunson being in foul trouble. Brunson racking up fouls has become a common sight lately, and Josh Hart called him out postgame.
“We trust everybody, one through 15,” Hart said. “If he’s [Brunson] down, it just means someone else has to step up, it’s going to be more minutes for somebody else. And we gotta go out and make [an] impact. He needs to stop fouling so much. We need him out there, but I think it shows that even if he is in foul trouble, we’re not worried, we’re not panicking.”
Brunson picked up his fifth foul with just over seven minutes remaining in the game. The two-time All-Star was forced to head to the bench and only re-entered with 1:37 left in the contest.
The Knicks managed to stay afloat in Brunson’s absence. They were up 89-88 when he exited and were leading 98-97 when he returned. While a lot of players deserve credit for that, a bulk of it has to go to Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns stepped up in a big way in that fourth quarter. He erupted for 20 points in the final period and carried the Knicks on his back. The series would have been all but over with another Pacers victory here, and Towns ensured that wouldn’t happen.
Brunson would do his part as well when he did come back, scoring four points in the final 90 seconds. He finished the game with 23 points (6-18 FG), two rebounds, and one assist.
You’d expect a team to struggle when the biggest star heads to the bench, but that hasn’t been the case for the Knicks in this series. Brunson was in foul trouble in Game 1 as well, as he picked up his fifth foul with just over 10 minutes remaining in the fourth.
The Knicks led 94-92 when Brunson had to exit, and you thought the Pacers were going to take control. The exact opposite happened, however.
The Knicks would immediately go on a 14-0 run without Brunson. That stretch seemed to have won them the game, but the Pacers then pulled off a comeback for the ages to emerge victorious in overtime.
While the Knicks have done well when Brunson sits, they obviously wouldn’t want him to keep getting in foul trouble. He had also fouled out in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics in the Conference Semifinals, and this is starting to become a real headache for head coach Tom Thibodeau. Brunson needs to be more careful moving forward.
As for Hart, he was moved to the bench by Thibodeau for Mitchell Robinson in Game 3. He responded by putting up eight points (1-3 FG), 10 rebounds, four assists, and one steal on the night. Hart also made it clear postgame that he wasn’t bothered the least bit by the benching.
“It’s funny because people were texting me all day, asking if I’m ok,” Hart said. “It’s like, I don’t care if I start. I don’t care if I play 20 minutes. If we win, we win.”
That’s a great mindset. Hart and the Knicks have now cut the Pacers’ lead to 2-1, and Game 4 will be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Tuesday at 8 PM ET.
