The New York Knicks produced a stunning comeback to claim a first win in their NBA Eastern Conference play-off finals against the Indiana Pacers.
Defeat would have left the Knicks 3-0 down in the seven-game series, but New York – who were 20 points down towards the end of the second quarter – now only trail 2-1.
Karl-Anthony Towns starred with 20 points in the fourth quarter to snatch a crucial 106-100 victory.
With his side trailing 80-70 at the end of the third quarter, Towns – who played fewer than 28 minutes in game two – scored 15 points in the first four minutes of the quarter before adding a further five.
“When I got a chance to do what I do in the fourth, I was going to make sure I seized the opportunity,” Towns said.
“I just wanted to go there to give our team a chance to win. I’m just happy I was able to do that.”
New York survived a late Pacers surge to hold on for a hard-fought win, with Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart securing the victory with scores in the final seconds.
“He made some big plays for them,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said of Towns.
“We couldn’t get stops when we needed them. And offensively, we didn’t have our usual pop.
“We didn’t have the ball movement that we usually do.”
Game four will take place in Indianapolis on Tuesday at 20:00 local time (01:00 BST on Wednesday).
