INDIANAPOLIS – After the first two games of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals showdown between former Indiana Hoosiers OG Anunoby and Thomas Bryant, it appeared that Bryant and the Indiana Pacers had the gilded path to the NBA Finals.
Indiana took a 2-0 series lead with the first two victories earned at New York’s Madison Square Garden. With the series headed to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Pacers were in the driver’s seat.
However, Anunoby and the Knicks had other ideas.
Late Sunday night, the Knicks got back in the series with a 106-100 victory over the Pacers in Game 3. Indiana still leads the series, but the Knicks’ victory means the series will go back to New York for at least one more game.
Anunoby played a pivotal role in New York’s bounce-back victory. He played 37 minutes and scored 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field. Anunoby was 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He also had three blocks, two assists, two rebounds and one steal.
Anunoby’s defense was pivotal down the stretch as the Knicks wiped out what had been a peak deficit of 20 to rally for the win.
This defensive prowess was particularly evident with 3:39 left. Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith tried to get the edge on Anunoby on the baseline. Nesmith couldn’t get the space to get a clean shot off and was forced to take a contested shot that Anunoby blocked out of bounds.
As for Bryant, he didn’t play at all in Game 3. He was officially listed as being out due to a coach’s decision. Bryant had struggled in a limited role in Games 1 and 2 and endured some criticism from Pacers fans online.
The Pacers have lost Game 3 in each of their Eastern Conference playoff series, only to win their remaining games to advance past both Milwaukee and Cleveland to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks are trying to fight their way out of their first series deficit of the playoffs after they lead both of their series against Detroit and Boston to get to the conference finals.
Both Anunoby and Bryant were teammates at Indiana from 2015-17 and they were both integral players on Indiana’s 2016 Sweet 16 team. That was the last time the Hoosiers made it to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Both Anunoby and Bryant have been part of NBA championship teams before. Anunoby was part of Toronto’s 2019 NBA championship team. Bryant was part of Denver’s 2023 NBA championship squad.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals is 8 p.m. on Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and it will be broadcast on TNT.
