Tyrese Haliburton blames himself for allowing the Knicks to stage a comeback and beat the Pacers in Game 3

The New York Knicks overcame a 20-point second-quarter deficit to scrape past the Indiana Pacers, 106–100, making an impressive comeback to stay in contention in Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday, May 26 (Philippine Standard Time).

New York’s victory was largely due to one of the best performances of Karl-Anthony Towns’ career. Towns had only four points heading into the fourth quarter but stepped up when his team needed him most, scoring 20 points in the final 12 minutes. This marked the most fourth-quarter playoff points recorded by a Knicks player since 1997 (play-by-play era).

The Pacers’ star point guard Tyrese Haliburton took the blame for his team’s second-half collapse, which gave the Knicks the victory and an opportunity to get back into the series.

Every shot from Tyrese Haliburton to tie or take the lead in the last 2 minutes this season pic.twitter.com/O3DwUty1JA

— Pitless (@pitlessball) May 22, 2025

“I feel like we got kind of stagnant on that end. I thought we just didn’t do a good job of continuing to play fast. I felt like I did a poor job of keeping pace in the game, especially in the fourth quarter. I feel like I was walking the ball up every play, so I know it’s got to be a big area of improvement for me,” Haliburton said after the game.

The 25-year-old will have plenty of motivation to take the Pacers closer to the NBA Finals in Game 4, as he believes that the team’s execution starts with him on the court.

“I didn’t do a good job getting downhill and making plays. I have to do a better job there. I think I’ve relied a lot down the stretch of games on getting guys in the right positions, and I feel like I didn’t do a great job with that. Execution down the stretch—we definitely can be better, and that starts with me,” he added.

The Knicks will aim to build on this momentum and tie the series in Game 4, scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 (Philippine Standard Time), again at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Pacers, meanwhile, will look to capitalize on home-court advantage and take a 3–1 series lead.

It will be intriguing to see whether Haliburton can step up again, just like he did in Game 2. The Pacers’ chances of gaining a crucial edge in the series may ultimately rest on the performance of their star guard.

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