From "gummies" to steel bars! Downtown Festival 20 points crash Pacers, Thibodeau transforms into a formation to activate the battle of life and death in New York

On May 26, the New York Knicks staged an epic reversal in the Eastern Conference Finals G3, defeating the Indiana Pacers 106-100 away, tying the series score to 1-2. This victory not only ended the team's embarrassing record of five consecutive away losses this season, but also broke the curse of "deadly fighting the main force" under the coaching system of Thibodeau. This game, the nine-player rotation set a new high in the team's playoffs, becoming the key winner to turn the situation around.

Faced with the desperate situation of 0-2 behind, Thibodeau, who is known for his stubbornness, made his historic changes: he brought Mitchell Robinson to the starting lineup to form the "Two Towers" lineup, and at the same time he used Shamet and Wright to fill the substitute firepower. This adjustment directly targets the fatal flaws exposed in the first two games of the series - when the Knicks started the five Tigers (Brunson, Hart, Bridges, Anunobi, and Towns) averaged more than 42 minutes per game, the Pacers repeatedly reversed in the final quarter with their physical advantage of 10-man rotation.

data shows that the Knicks averaged only 8.7 points per game, ranking last in the playoff team, while the Pacers averaged 29.3 points per game, in sharp contrast.

The change of the lineup brought immediate results: Robinson contributed 7 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks in 18 minutes of the start, effectively limiting Turner's threat under the basket. Shamet made two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, with a plus-negative value of +15 championships in the whole game.

This change continues the team management's successful team building idea this season - the introduction of Bridges in the offseason and the trading of Towns in the offseason has made the Knicks' starting off and defense efficiency both enter the top five in the league. The balanced performance of four players in this game with 15+ points (Brunson 28 points, Towns 24 points, Anunobi 17 points, and Bridges 15 points) is a concentrated reflection of the improvement in lineup depth.

Brunson once again proved the quality of the "New York King". He scored 14 points in the final quarter, including the superstar moment with 6 points in the last 1 minute and 22 seconds. This super guard, who has scored 40+ times in the playoffs this season, effectively avoiding the trouble of fouls (only 2 fouls), has achieved a qualitative leap compared to the dilemma of being sent off by six fouls in G5.

Downs played the best performance in the series, and blew the counterattack horn with 11 points in the third quarter, and his three-point shooting percentage increased from 25% of G2 to 42.9% of this game, perfectly interpreting the tactical value of the space-type No. 5 position.

The victory hidden behind this victory is a victory of business logic. According to ticket data, if the Knicks are swept, the team will lose at least $30 million in ticket revenue. Management clearly realizes the importance of "home economy" - Madison Garden's Eastern Conference Final G4 tickets have soared to a minimum of $703, more than four times the price of the Thunder's tickets for the same round at home.

The victory in this game injected new variables into the series, but the hidden dangers still exist: the Knicks' three-point shooting percentage in this game is only 31.4%, and can the offensive mode that relies too much on the penalty area to score (56-42 inside the line) continue? Will Thibodeau return to conservative rotation in subsequent games? These issues will determine the final direction of this series. The only thing that is certain is that New Yorkers have proved with practice that there is a third road to victory at the balance between superstar basketball and team supremacy.