Interestingly, O Neal and Barkley slammed Towns in the G3 midfielder in the Eastern Conference Finals, and Towns broke out in the final quarter

Carl Anthony Towns was criticized for his poor first half in the third game, but he stepped forward to help the Knicks regain the victory from the Pacers. The New York Knicks trailed 0-2 against the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals and they had to face Game 3 with a sense of despair as if their series was already in jeopardy. After all, no team in NBA history has turned the tables from a 0-3-departure in the playoff series. But in the first half of Game 3, the 2025 NBA All-A-Level No. 3 player Carl Anthony Towns performed poorly.

Towns scored only 4 points in the first half and was in trouble with fouls early; in the 24 minutes after the game, Towns' overall performance with the Knicks was terrible. During the break, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley, who were far away on the TNT's NBA Insider, criticized the Knicks star's poor performance.

"You have to stay aggressive. We need you to show despair. This kind of (not making layups) should never happen. At 6-foot-11, right near the rim, you have to shoot. You have to put out your strength," O'Neal said.

At the same time, Barkley was very confused as to why Towns made a three-pointer near the team logo when the offensive clock was about to end, and he was out of control throughout the game.

"What the hell is going on?" Barkley said angrily.

"At this point, we will definitely play in the locker room now. Behind 0-2, you have to shoot a 35-foot shot?" O'Neal agreed with Barkley's confusion.

However, they should be proud of the efforts Towns made after his poor second half. He was the main catalyst for the Knicks to win the fourth quarter and eventually win Game 3 106-100, and this moment may also be the moment when they look back at the Knicks and think it was Towns who saved the team from the shadow of the end of the season.

Carl Anthony Towns saves the Knicks from the edge

There have been many reports about Carl Anthony Towns' struggles in the series. He has poor defense performance, has made many defensive mistakes, and often looks like an invisible man on the offense. But in Game 3, Towns took the initiative to save the Knicks and led them to reverse the victory with a 20-point fall behind earlier in the first half.

Downs scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and actively attacked the basket. Despite the Pacers' defensive players pressing down, Towns still broke through his opponent with dribbling. Despite his criticism in the series against the Pacers, he also made a big contribution to saving the Knicks’ victory this season.