Pacers Injury Could Change Knicks' Series

The New York Knicks may be granted a reprieve going into Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson controls the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are in a back-and-forth series with the Indiana Pacers after coming back from down 20 to win Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The road team has won every game in the series so far as the Pacers hold a 2-1 lead going into Game 4.

The next matchup will be pivotal for both teams, especially the Pacers as they have to respond from blowing their Game 3 lead. However, they may be playing without one of their key players in small forward Aaron Nesmith, who suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Game 3.

“You lose a guy like that, it affects your ability to close a quarter,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said via The Athletic's Joe Vardon.

“So, maybe there’s a factor there. But we’re not gonna make excuses. We’ve come back from big leads. We lost a lead (Sunday). Regardless of who’s out there, we gotta be able to attack better and do the things to maintain it and finish the game. We just simply did not execute as well as we needed to.”

Nesmith checked out of the game with 6:06 in the third quarter after rolling his ankle and didn't return until there were seven minutes left in the game. When Nesmith left the game, the Pacers were up 13 points. By the time he re-entered the game, the Knicks held a one-point lead. A 32-18 run occurred while Nesmith was on the sidelines.

Nesmith's 30-point performance in Game 1 with six 3-pointers in the final six minutes will go down in NBA history as one of the greatest of all-time. He responded in Game 2 with another 12 points to will the Pacers to victory.

His presence is important for Indiana, but the Pacers must figure out how to beat the Knicks with him not operating at 100 percent.

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