INDIANAPOLIS — So much of the New York Knicks‘ improbable postseason journey — from their 21-0 run in the fourth quarter to storm back and beat the Detroit Pistons in their playoff opener, to Karl-Anthony Towns‘ dominant 20-point fourth quarter in Sunday’s Game 3 to lead a come-from-behind win over the Indiana Pacers — has been predicated on the team’s abilty to dig out of deep holes.

And if the Knicks are going to somehow advance to the NBA Finals, it’s going to require them to climb out of at least one more.

New York stumbled out of the gate defensively Tuesday night, surrendering 43 points in the first quarter and a near-triple-double to star guard Tyrese Haliburton in the first half. It was a sign of things to come. And even though the Knicks stayed within striking distance, they couldn’t generate enough defensive stops to stage a comeback, losing 130-121 in Game 4 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

With the defeat, New York trails Indiana 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. It means the Knicks would need to defeat the Pacers — who haven’t lost back-to-back games since early March — three straight times to reach the Finals.

The Knicks managed to pull to within six points in the closing minutes, leaving many wondering if they would do the unthinkable again after entering the final quarter trailing by double digits. But New York wasn’t solid enough this time — especially on defense — as Haliburton and Pascal Siakam took over down the stretch.

“In true fashion to our whole playoff run, we put ourselves in a deficit, got ourselves out of the deficit, and then usually we feel good about us going into a close game in the fourth quarter and showing our resilience. But you get burned if you put yourself in that position too many times,” Towns said. “We think coming into the fourth quarter that we’re going to find that one trick again. We just didn’t have that magic tonight.”

Several Knicks outlined the challenges that come with facing these Pacers. More than most clubs, the Pacers make you pay for turnovers. New York has learned it the hard way throughout, and did so again Tuesday with 17 miscues –five from wing Josh Hart alone — that Indiana cashed in for 20 points.

Beyond that, there’s the mental task of guarding Rick Carlisle’s up-tempo team, which forces continuous proper defensive rotations — a process that exploits a team for the tiniest back-end mistake.

Between the Knicks using a relatively new starting five and them having different substitution patterns because of early foul trouble, the Pacers have found easy baskets repeatedly when they capitalize on those missteps.

“I think it’s difficult for any team [to stop]. You can stop one action, but then it’s the next action and the next action,” Hart said of defending Indiana’s attack, which shot 51% overall and 40% from 3. “If one domino falls … that one person’s mess-up is messing up the whole possession. Obviously they’re running good stuff, but we have to make sure that we’re physical and locked in and just make it tough for them.”

It wasn’t as if the Knicks didn’t have offensive success of their own. Jalen Brunson and Towns combined for 55 points — and had 19 trips to the free throw line — on 50% shooting from the field. OG Anunoby became a second-half focal point offensively in the paint, and had an efficient 22-point effort.

But the flipside was revealing: Haliburton and Siakam combined for 62 points and also shot 50%. Haliburton had a historic playoff stat line, becoming the first player in postseason history to log at least 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds without a turnover since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78, according to ESPN Research.

Pacers reserve Bennedict Mathurin also had 20 points and took only eight shots.

Brunson, who has been targeted by Haliburton and the Pacers on defense throughout the series, acknowledged that he has to be more effective.

“I’m not doing enough,” he said. “There has to be a difference on my part when it comes to that.”

Towns then said the entire team has a responsibility to better defend Haliburton.

“It’s not just him. It’s all of us,” said Towns, who walked into the postgame news conference with a heavy limp after sustaining a left knee injury late in the fourth quarter, though he remained in the game. “We all have to do a better job of making it more difficult for each of them to score.”