Basketball Intelligence For 5/26/25

The day's best news and reporting

*FEATURE OF THE DAY*
Karl-Anthony Towns’ Game 3 gem — a gift to his late mother
James L. Edwards III, The Athletic

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Knicks-Pacers Is Baffling, Bizarre, and Hopefully Going Seven
Michael Pina, The Ringer

Full disclosure: It got so bad Sunday that I was fully prepared to write about Brunson’s defense[3] after this game. In these playoffs, Brunson ranks first in offensive estimated plus-minus and literally dead last in defensive estimated plus-minus (147th out of 147 players). It would have been a harsh reality to watch Brunson, the player who carried the Knicks this far, become the reason the team falls short of true championship contention in an immutable way. But alas, in a twist, the Knicks won Game 3 largely because of Thibodeau’s decision to sit Brunson—while he had five fouls—for all but three minutes in the fourth quarter.

At the Buzzer: R3G3 — Knicks 106, Pacers 100
Scott Agness, Fieldhouse Files With Scott Agness

A wild Knicks-Pacers series takes another thrilling turn in Game 3
Joe Vardon, The Athletic

Josh Hart spoke his new role into existence and then helped the Knicks win Game 3
Fred Katz, The Athletic

So Hart — an intense competitor with a special affection for Thibodeau — he once described their dynamic as “the coach and player who perfectly match each other’s crazy” — initiated an idea, suggesting that Thibodeau mirror the minutes of Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks’ defensive giant, with Kornet’s. In doing so, could realigning Hart with the bench help a first unit that was, at best, inconsistent during the season’s most important moments?

Sundays are for the KATs
Tom Ziller, Good morning It’s Basketball

NBA playoffs takeaways: Karl-Anthony Towns and Knicks rally again, this time vs. Pacers
The Athletic NBA Staff, The Athletic

"I Didn't Hear No Bell..."
Jonathan Macri, Knicks Film School

Pacers say they didn't play their way in Game 3 loss to Knicks
Tim Bontemps, ESPN

Unusual but desperate: Knicks break up starting lineup, insert Mitchell Robinson
Barbara Barker, Newsday

With Knicks on the ropes, the Pacers let go — and let New York back into East finals
David Aldridge, The Athletic

Tom Thibodeau explains Knicks' Game 3 starting lineup change, but another decision may have rescued the season
Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports

On Sunday, with Robinson filling in for Hart, the starting lineup had a pretty much dead-even net rating in 14 minutes. That's not going to knock anyone's socks off, but it's certainly a dramatic improvement over minus-43. The biggest difference came on defense, where the Robinson lineup held Indiana to just 96 points per 100 possessions, compared to the 127 they'd averaged over the first two games.

BI: Despite all the noise around the decision, Hart ended up playing 34 minutes last night—just 3 minutes below his average for the postseason. \

Knicks vs. Pacers: With New York on the brink, Karl-Anthony Towns steps up to perhaps save the Knicks' season
Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports

Second Half the Difference in Pacers' Loss to Knicks
Madie Chandler, NBA.com

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