Tom Thibodeau is known for his hard-nosed tactics. Physicality and tenacity are the key elements of his style. Moreover, he tests the endurance of his top rotation, playing them the majority of the minutes. Notably, the Knicks’ bench averages just 10.7 minutes in the playoffs, the least of all the teams.

However, tonight Thibodeau made some changes. The Knicks’ head coach moved Josh Hart to the bench and started Mitchell Robinson. McBride picked up three fouls early, and Brunson was also in foul trouble. It forced him to test their depth. That confused the Pacers because they didn’t know what to expect from those players.

“Yeah, you know McBride got three fouls first quarter, I guess. So that took him out of it. I don’t know what their plan was coming into the game. But the guys that came in, they battled. They battled and did a really good job,” Rick Carlisle said after the game.

They still didn’t play significant minutes. Landry Shamet featured for 11 minutes while Delon Wright logged in 13. But their energy turned the tables. Shamet, in particular, recorded a +12 net differential for the game. Their success allowed Thibodeau to rest each of his starters for at least 15 minutes.

As the two wings defending the best players, only Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby played more than 35 minutes. But every player from the Knicks managed to make a difference. With a well-rested unit and option for the fourth, the Knicks didn’t waver from their resilience despite being down 2-0 in the series.

With this win, they have given themselves a chance. But it’s still not enough. The Pacers’ offense rarely flatlines the way it did tonight. And after reading tonight’s game, the Knicks will have to respond to their adjustments accordingly to attempt to win on the road again. But figuring out one piece of the puzzle might be troublesome.

Another incidental adjustment changed the game for Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks

The Knicks getting deep into their bench wasn’t the only adjustment they made. It was another forced decision that reaped them a huge benefit. Brunson was pushed to the edge by the officials. By the end of the first half, he had four fouls. In addition, Karl-Anthony Towns also picked up three.

It put Tom Thibodeau in a dilemma. Playing both of them together would increase the likelihood of the Pacers attacking them defensively. So he had to make an adjustment. Brunson, who won Clutch Player of the Year, only played 2 minutes of the fourth quarter. As a result, Towns and he couldn’t unleash their two-man game as much.

But that is what unlocked the key for the Knicks. “Tom Thibodeau searching like crazy for something that would work and him being compelled due to foul trouble. I doubt it was in his strategy, but compelled due to foul trouble to play Jalen Brunson and Carl Towns together less. And as a result, the Knicks played better defense,” Brian Windhorst noted on Hoop Collective.

McBride being the better defender out of the guards supplied as a pressurizer despite him also being in foul trouble. But most importantly, it set the stage for Karl-Anthony Towns, who caught the Indiana Pacers by surprise. “He went on a run, and we weren’t able to shut that off. We got to get better at that. And I guess he made some big plays for them, and we weren’t able to get stops when we needed them really,” Siakam said about Towns’ contributions.

For three quarters, the Pacers’ defense contained the Knicks’ center. He had scored just 4 points by the end of the third quarter. However, he came in the most vital moments of the game. KAT scored 20 points, hitting 6 of his nine attempts in the quarter. He single-handedly matched the Pacers’ fourth quarter tally. The Knicks outscored them by 16, settling Game 3 with a stunning victory on the road.

It’s unclear whether Tom Thibodeau will continue to preach these accidental findings. But what matters is that it worked tonight when the Knicks had to win.