Nembhard’s final 3 gives Pacers 111-106 win over Knicks, Indiana stays within 2-1
INDIANAPOLIS – Andrew Nembhard made a tiebreaking 3-pointer from 31 feet With 16 seconds remaining, Tyrese Haliburton scored 35 points and the Indiana Pacers rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the New York Knicks 111-106 on Friday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks still lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 set for Sunday in Indianapolis. New York led by nine points with 9:45 remaining and was in position to take a 3-0 lead, but with Jalen Brunson slowed by a right foot injury, the Knicks were unable to hold on.
Nembhard scored just five points – all in the final minute – while Haliburton finished with his second consecutive career playoff high. Pascal Siakam had 26 points and seven rebounds, and Myles Turner had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks with 35 points, hitting 7 of 11 on 3-pointers. Brunson had 26 points and six rebounds, including a game-tying 3 with 42 seconds left, but he barely hit the rim on another 3-point attempt with 13 seconds left.
Alec Burks, who arrived 1 minute into the postseason, scored 14 points in 21 minutes for the Knicks, who played without starting forward OG Anunoby. It’s unclear whether Anunoby can recover from his left hamstring injury to play on Sunday, although he traveled with the team to Indianapolis.
The Knicks had already lost All-Star Julius Randle and key contributors Bojan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson to season-ending injuries.
After blowing second-half leads in each of the first two games, it was the Pacers who turned things around. With New York fans chanting “Let’s Go Knicks” at the Pacers’ arena, Indiana found the final kicker it was missing earlier this week when new WNBA star Caitlin Clark watched the game in a suite with her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, and Indiana Fever teammates.
Haliburton instigated the comeback after Indiana trailed 98-89 with 9:45 remaining.
He completed a three-point play and then made back-to-back layups, cutting the deficit to two. Siakam tied the score at 99 with a three-point play with 5:42 left and when DiVincenzo broke free on a fast break, Haliburton helped free the ball. Siakam responded by making one of two free throws to give Indiana a 100-99 lead at 5:42.
The teams exchanged the lead four more times, and Brunson’s 3 made 106 total. Nembhard made the shot as the shot clock expired, the Pacers defense got the save it needed and Aaron Nesmith finished with two free throws.
