INDIANAPOLIS — – Andrew Nembhard made a 31-foot, tiebreaking 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, Tyrese Haliburton scored 35 points and the Indiana Pacers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the banged-up and short-handed 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 with 9:45 remaining and was in position to take a commanding 3-0 lead, but with Jalen Brunson slowed by a right foot injury, the Knicks couldn’t hold on.
Nembhard scored only five points – all in the final minute – while Haliburton finished with his second straight playoff career high. Pascal Siakam added 26 points and seven rebounds while Myles Turner had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks with 35 points, going 7 of 11 on 3-pointers. Brunson had 26 points and six rebounds, including a tying 3 with 42 seconds left, but he barely hit the rim on another 3-point try with 13 seconds to go.
Alec Burks, who came in having played 1 minute in the postseason, scored 14 points in 21 minutes for the Knicks, who played without starting forward OG Anunoby. It’s considered unlikely that Anunoby will play in Sunday’s Game 4, as well, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday. Anunoby was evaluated before the team left for Indiana on Thursday and that assessment was to continue Thursday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.