The Indiana Pacers lost their top defender, Aaron Nesmith, with a sprained right ankle midway through the third quarter Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks entered Sunday night's contest against the Indiana Pacers with their backs against the wall. Down 2–0 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals series, they desperately need a win if they want to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1999.

The New York Knicks are reportedly considering a big lineup change ahead of Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers.

New York Knicks forward Mitchell Robinson will start in place of guard Josh Hart for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Sunday night. The switch first appeared on the lineup card released 30 minutes before tip-off and comes after the Indiana Pacers rallied to win the first two games of the series on New York's home court.

Even though the Knicks have to believe that they can come back and win this series, the stats show the Knicks have no chance of coming back to beat the Pacers. If the Knicks were to come back and win the series, they would be doing something that no one in NBA history has ever done before. The Pacers are sitting in a very good spot.

With the Celtics, Cavaliers and Bucks all facing huge offseason questions, the Knicks and Pacers could battle for Eastern Conference supremacy for years to come.

Last season, Indiana played the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. The series went to seven games, with the Pacers pulling out a Game 7 win in New York to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost in that series to the Boston Celtics.