The three-pointer was falling for the Celtics and the Knicks could not respond in their 115-93 Game 3 loss on Saturday afternoon at MSG.
Boston shot 48 percent from the field and 50 percent (20-for-40) from three, while New York shot 40 percent and 20 percent (5-for-25) from three.
Here are the takeaways…
-Celtics entered Game 3 hitting 25-of-100 of their threes, so of course they would hit their first three three-point attempts. But Boston also made it a point to go to the rim — six of their first nine shots were from two — especially Jayson Tatum who only shot one three in the first six minutes of the game. On the other side, the Knicks looked tight and were a bit unlucky. Their shots didn’t have conviction behind them, and when they did get some open shots, they would rim out. They started just 2-for-11 (1-for-5 from three) before head coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout.
The Celtics would continue to hit their shots and take advantage of Knicks misses — and a little bit of hack-a-Mitch to build their lead to 15 points. Payton Pritchard would hit a fadeaway jumper as the clock expired to put the Celtics up 36-20 after one quarter. Boston shot 58 percent (11-for-19) from the field, including 6-of-7 from three in the first. That, plus the Knicks shooting just 35 percent (8-for-23), including 1-for-7 from three, was the difference. What helped the Knicks sort of stay in the game was the offensive glass, which Mitchell Robinson had two of the team’s five in that opening frame.
However, Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two first-quarter fouls, which limited the forward’s play. KAT and Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with six points each. With KAT on the bench and Robinson out to limit the intentional fouls, Precious Achiuwa played three minutes and picked up four points.
-The second quarter was more of the same. The Celtics kept making their threes, and played incredible defense, denying Knicks cutters to the basket just about every chance they had. Boston had their lead reach 25 points at one point, but a burst from the Knicks cut the deficit to 17 and got the MSG crowd back into it. But Tatum and the rest of the sharpshooters on the Celtics silenced them with threes to keep their lead hovering around the 20-point mark.
Heading into the half, the Celtics were shooting 55 percent (24-for-44), including 12-for-19 from three. They also had three steals and four blocks. Jaylen Brown and Tatum led the scoring for Boston with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
For the Knicks, they shot just 40 percent (17-for-43), including 2-for-12 from three. KAT (13) and Brunson (12) led the scoring for New York who were outrebounded, 24-19, at halftime.
-The Celtics would come out of the break and build a game-high 31-point lead before an 8-0 run by the Knicks gave The Garden crowd something to cheer for. But whenever it felt like New York would shift the momentum, a Derrick White three or an and-one from Tatum would stop the push. Sloppy turnovers and poor transition defense allowed Boston to keep a stranglehold on this game.
-The Knicks would get the three-point shot to fall early in the fourth. Two from Brunson and one from Miles McBride cut the Celtics’ lead to 20 points before Boston called a timeout. The Knicks’ offense would struggle from then on as the Celtics continued to grind New York’s defense with easy shots and back-breaking threes.
Thibodeau would pull his starters with three minutes remaining with the Celtics up 23 points. The Celtics were up by 20-plus since two minutes left in the second quarter until the starters were all benched.
–OG Anunoby had a disappointing game, scoring just two points on 1-for-6 shooting. He only had two rebounds and one assist. Brunson led the team with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting, but turned the ball over four times — clearly trying too hard to get the offense going.
Josh Hart finished with 10 points while KAT had 21 and Mikal Bridges added 12 to round out the starters’ scoring.
On the other side, Pritchard led the Celtics with 23 points while Tatum (22), Brown (19), Al Horford (15), Jrue Holiday (8) and White (17) accounted for the starters’ scoring.
Kristaps Porzingis, who has been dealing with aftereffects from a viral infection, played 19 minutes and scored five points.
Game MVP: Payton Pritchard
The Sixth Man of the Year really took it to the Knicks on Saturday. Whenever the Knicks had a run, Pritchard would hit a three or make a great defensive play.
Highlights
Jalen Brunson with the TOUGH fadeaway 😤
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/Eewg2oNtPF
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 10, 2025
What’s next
Game 4 between the Knicks and Celtics will take place Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at The Garden.
