Rare Rotation Brings Redemption: How Thibodeau's Nine-Man Strategy Powered the Knicks to a Critical Game 3 Win

In the pressure cooker of a must-win Game 3, down 0-2 and facing the grim abyss of an 0-3 series hole — the kind no NBA team has ever crawled out of — the New York Knicks found a way to fight back. Final score: 106-100. The opponent: a feisty Indiana Pacers squad. The location: hostile territory in Indianapolis. And the turning point? A coaching decision from one of the most stubborn tacticians in the league: Tom Thibodeau.

Yes, that Thibodeau — the iron-jawed, minutes-heavy maestro infamous for riding his starters like borrowed racehorses until their legs give out. In a dramatic twist of fate, Thibs busted out a rare nine-man rotation, each logging double-digit minutes. The result? A come-from-behind road win that may have saved the Knicks’ postseason.

The Stakes Couldn’t Have Been Higher

The Knicks entered Game 3 with their backs jammed against the wall. After dropping the first two games at Madison Square Garden, a third consecutive loss would be nothing short of a death sentence. Historically, 0-3 means elimination — the basketball equivalent of a closed casket.

Early signs didn’t look great. The Knicks started well enough, jumping out to a 15-10 lead, but then surrendered a brutal 45-20 run that left them staring at a 20-point deficit (35-55). Down 70-80 heading into the fourth, the situation looked dire. Jalen Brunson was struggling — just 4-of-14 from the field, 1-of-5 from three, mired in foul trouble and lacking rhythm. But one man decided enough was enough.

Karl-Anthony Towns: From Goat to Hero

Through three quarters, Karl-Anthony Towns had been a disaster — 2-of-8 shooting, just 4 points, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls. His Game 2 performance had been equally underwhelming, prompting Thibodeau to bench him in crunch time. Twitter fingers were sharpening their knives.

Then came the fourth quarter.

Towns erupted for 20 points in under 7 minutes, singlehandedly dragging the Knicks from the brink. Step-back threes, aggressive face-up drives, power dunks — the full offensive arsenal was on display. Towns not only scored 20 of the team’s 24 points during the comeback surge, but assisted on another two. From scapegoat to savior in a matter of minutes, he turned boos into belief.

Brunson’s Redemption Arc

Jalen Brunson didn’t have his A-game for most of the night. By the end of the third quarter, his stat line was pedestrian at best: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 fouls, 3 turnovers. Yet in classic "Clutch Player of the Year" fashion, Brunson came alive late. With 1:30 remaining, he drilled a signature floater to push the Knicks lead. Up two with just 8 seconds left, he calmly knocked down two free throws to seal the game.

It wasn’t his most dominant performance, but when the game hung in the balance, Brunson did what stars do — he delivered.

Josh Hart: Mr. Everything

Forced to come off the bench for the first time all season due to the Knicks' double-big lineup, Josh Hart didn’t flinch. Playing 34 minutes, he posted 8 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and a +5 plus-minus. But the box score doesn’t begin to tell the story.

In the final minute, Hart secured three critical rebounds — two defensive, one offensive — and hit four clutch free throws to help fend off the Pacers’ final surge. One of those boards, where he outleapt Myles Turner and drew a foul from Aaron Nesmith, might have been the single most important play of the series so far.

He’s 6'4", but boards like he's 6'10". The man is tougher than a two-dollar steak.

Anunoby the Constant

OG Anunoby was the picture of efficiency and control. He dropped 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (including 4-of-6 from three), added 2 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks with zero turnovers. All of his scoring came in the first three quarters, but his fourth-quarter impact was felt defensively, where he came up with timely blocks and suffocating perimeter coverage.

OG doesn’t just play defense — he engineers silence. He made life miserable for Pascal Siakam in key stretches and anchored a Knicks wing defense that desperately needed stability.

The Supporting Cast: Stepping Up

What made Game 3 so distinctive — and promising — was the contribution from players who had barely seen the floor in Games 1 and 2:

• Miles McBride: Played just 15 minutes but scored 9 points, with 9 of those minutes coming in the fourth quarter. With Brunson in foul trouble, McBride’s fearless energy helped stabilize the backcourt.

• Landry Shamet: Entered the series for the first time, played 11 minutes, scored 3 points with 2 assists, and registered a team-high +12. It was the kind of cameo that shifts momentum and sparks benches.

• Delon Wright: Also saw rare minutes (13), and made them count: 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal. He brought pace, control, and a needed change of rhythm.

• Cameron Payne: Benched after two underwhelming games (2-of-10 shooting, 6 points total). Thibodeau made the right call.

Thibodeau’s Tactical Turnaround

For once, Tom Thibodeau showed he can adapt. The decision to start with a double-big lineup (Towns + Precious Achiuwa) and bring Hart off the bench was bold — and it worked. Indiana scored just 10 points in the first half of the first quarter.

But the biggest shocker? The rotation itself.

All nine players saw at least 10 minutes. No one hit 37. That might not sound revolutionary, but for Thibs — a coach notorious for playoff-minute marathons — it was nothing short of a paradigm shift.

Even more important was in-game substitution fluidity. Down the stretch, Thibodeau swapped out Brunson and Towns on defense, only to re-insert them on offense. These offense-defense subs weren’t just smart — they were executed with playoff precision, showing a coach who had fully locked into situational basketball.

Don’t scoff. Plenty of title-winning coaches don’t make these moves. Thibs did.

What's Next?

Despite still trailing the series 1-2, the Knicks head into Game 4 with renewed belief. They’ve already shown they can hang with Indiana — the first two losses were by a combined eight points. With Towns breaking out, Hart playing with the ferocity of a junkyard dog, and Thibodeau finally embracing lineup flexibility, the momentum is real.

Indiana has home-court advantage, but the Knicks now hold something just as dangerous: belief. Belief in each other. Belief in the system. Belief that this isn’t over.

One Last Word

For all the analytics, rotations, and Xs-and-Os, sometimes basketball boils down to one question:

Who wants it more?

In Game 3, the answer was the New York Knicks — a team that could’ve folded, but instead chose to fight. And with Thibodeau finally letting the bench breathe, this fight might just be getting started.