Defiant Knicks Game 3 Hero Karl-Anthony Towns Battles Foul Trouble in Game 4

By the end of the first half, Towns had benefitted from the referee’s whistle as well, taking six free throws, hitting five of them.

Halliburton Ends Half 1 Assist Short of Triple Double

Towns appeared defiant of the early fouled trouble, continually driving to the hoop, tallying 14 points.

TNT television commentator Reggie Miller, himself a former Pacers great and NBA Hall of Famer, wondered aloud why Indiana did not appear to be driving on Towns in an attempt to tag him with his third foul.

With 2:12 remaining in the half, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau took Towns out of the game to give him an extended rest before halftime — and also to protect him from collecting his third foul.

In Game Three on Sunday, Towns also fought through foul issues, collecting five but surviving to lift the Knicks to their dramatic comeback. In foul trouble seemingly throughout, Towns had only four points through three quarters in Game Three before his fourth-quarter explosion,

For the Knicks, OG Annunoby and center Mitchell Robinson also collected two fouls apiece. But four Pacers ended the half with two fouls each — Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, Myles Turner and Andrew Nembhard.

Pacers star Tyrese Halliburton ended the half seemingly destined for a triple-double, with 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. The 25-year-old did not turn the ball over once in the half, or in the entire game.

Halliburton ended with the triple double, scoring 32 points with 12 rebounds and 15 assists.

Indiana led 69-64 at the half. But the team trailing at halftime turned out two be the winner in each of the first three games.

The Pacers scored 43 points in the first quarter, one more than they scored in the entire second half of their losing effort on Sunday when they lost a 20-point lead to fall 106-100 in Game Three.

But the Knicks started the second half with back-to-back live-ball turnovers, leading to four fast-break points for Indiana. The Pacers started the third quarter with a 7-0 run, which was actually a 13-0 run going back to the second quarter.

Somehow, Towns made it into the fourth quarter picking up only one more foul. He was finally called for a fourth foul with 2:10 to go in the game when he violently collided with Nesmith who was driving too the hoop. But Thibodeau challenged the call and the officials reversed the call — stating that Turner pushed Towns into Nesmith.

Towns hit the floor in pain with what appeared to be a knee injury after the collision. But Towns recovered and remained in the game.

Though Towns recovered from his early foul trouble, then Knicks’ Josh Hart fouled out with 1:44 remaining.