With Jalen Brunson in foul trouble and the Knicks staring at a third straight playoff loss, Karl-Anthony Towns stepped up. Playing through a sore knee, Towns poured in 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, powering New York’s rally from a 20-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 106-100 on Sunday night in Indianapolis.

In his recent appearance in The Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst highlighted the tricky situation involving Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, saying, “Obviously Jalen Brunson is potentially the MVP of the playoffs so far. By the way when he came back in the last two minutes, he was totally the closer and made a huge driving layup.”

Brunson sat for much of the second half in foul trouble, but the Knicks kept pushing. Towns took over, scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the fourth quarter, while anchoring a defense that limited Indiana to just 26.3% shooting in the final frame.

Tim Bontemps jumped in, saying, “Hit the game winning bucket. The guy was horrible the entire game, he comes in after not playing the entire fourth quarter and immediately scores what ends up being the game winning basket.”

Midway through the third, the Knicks trailed by 16 and still faced a 10-point gap entering the fourth, with a 3-0 series deficit staring them down. Then Towns took control—attacking the rim, finishing through contact, and sparking the comeback. He opened the fourth with a three-pointer, followed by two strong layups to cut the lead to 82-79.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson in Game 3 against the Pacers

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“I think they won this game because they didn’t play together. Again, that’s not a judgment on Jalen Brunson the closer, Jalen Brunson the player. It’s not a judgment on Karl-Anthony Towns. It is a judgment on this particular match-up. Like the reason Karl-Anthony Towns was able to have that quarter was because Jalen Brunson wasn’t out there,” Windhorst added.

Windhorst pointed out that Karl-Anthony Towns finished the game with a +6 plus-minus, while Jalen Brunson ended at -6—even with his clutch plays down the stretch. Towns went 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter alone.

With Brunson on the bench for much of the final period, the Knicks shifted their offense through Towns instead of relying on Brunson’s ball-dominant style. That adjustment paid off, and without Towns’ late-game takeover, New York likely wouldn’t have pulled out the win.

New York's comeback in this pivotal game took shape in an unexpected way. Head coach Tom Thibodeau shook up the lineup, sending Josh Hart to the bench and starting Mitchell Robinson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. While that pairing struggled early, the Knicks found their rhythm in the second half by staggering their minutes—often playing with only one of the two big men on the floor as they steadily cut into Indiana’s lead.

Indiana faces pressure in Game 4, as a Knicks victory would tie the series and return home-court advantage to New York.