No champagne. No grins. And certainly no victory lap, even after a close 106-100 win. The Knicks walked out of Gainbridge Fieldhouse like a team that had just punched a clock, not stolen a playoff win. You’d think a gutsy Game 3 road win, after trailing 2-0 and getting outclassed in back-to-back games, would earn a little chest-beating. Instead? Straight faces, tired eyes, and one very telling quote.

“Great team win,” Karl-Anthony Towns said postgame. “But we know we gotta be better.” Not exactly confetti and fireworks, right? Towns was sensational in Game 3. He looked like the player Knicks fans had been promised, not the one who disappeared in Game 2. 25 points, 15 boards, a dagger three in crunch time. If the box score had a hero badge, his name would be on it. But even he wasn’t celebrating.

Why? Because they know what Indiana did to them earlier in the week. Because one gritty win doesn’t flip a series, it just stops the bleeding. Still, the message was clear. Nobody’s getting comfortable. And let’s be honest, Knicks fans weren’t comfortable either. Literally. According to several posts across social media, including one viral tweet from Basketball Forever, New Yorkers who made the trip paid as much as $100 for parking near the arena. Pacers fans? Just $20.

Call it gamesmanship. Call it good old-fashioned Midwestern petty. Either way, Knicks faithful paid a literal price to witness this bounce-back. And what they got was a team that finally looked alive.

Karl-Anthony Towns & Co. punched back while New Yorkers punched in their credit cards

Towns wasn’t the only one who showed up. OG Anunoby rediscovered his shooting stroke, dropping 16 points and 2 rebounds that kept Indiana from closing the gap. Josh Hart, benched to start for the first time this postseason, still played 34 minutes and gave them 10 rebounds, 8 points, and 4 assists. It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty.

And it had to be. The Pacers had owned the paint through Games 1 and 2. Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton, and Myles Turner looked like they had taken a private lease out on the interior. But in Game 3? The Knicks finally fought back. Towns contested shots, Brunson clogged lanes, and the team actually played with urgency.

Let’s not downplay what was at stake here. Teams trailing 2-0 in a best-of-seven series come back to win less than 7.4% of the time. And well, the Knicks weren’t just trying to win, they were trying to not flatline. And Towns, for all the scrutiny he’s taken in the media and from fans, stepped up like a man who knew the walls were closing in.

With Game 4 looming on Tuesday night, the question isn’t whether the Knicks can tie the series. It’s whether they can sustain this energy. The Pacers will adjust. Rick Carlisle will tweak the matchups. But the Knicks? They need to show this wasn’t a one-night stand with effort.

Consistency is the currency of playoff success, and for a team that’s been rattled more than once, that’s easier said than done. Can Jalen Brunson keep the heat on? Will Karl-Anthony Towns’ shooting touch stay hot? How will the Knicks guard Myles Turner this time around? The stakes are rising faster than those Indiana parking fees. Because survival isn’t success, not yet. And $100 parking? That better not be the highlight of the weekend.