Celtics 115 vs 93 Knicks summary, stats, scores highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 3
It was all about the three pointers in Game 3. The Celtics hit 50% of their 40 threes on Saturday afternoon after shooting 25/100 in the first two games. They heated up early and didn't slow down. Suddenly the Celtics have all of the momentum in the series despite losing their first two games at home.
Payton Pritchard has been arguably the best Celtics player in this series. He always brings energy and buckets off the bench, and on Saturday afternoon he led the Celtics in scoring with 23.
Kristaps Porzingis got the green light to play despite still battling some effects of the illness that has followed him for the last few months. He looked like he was getting into a groove but didn't look his best in Game 3.
Boston's defense was incredible all game. Really it's been great for 10 of the 12 quarters in this series. The only problem was those two bad quarters cost them two games.
It wasn't just one player who stepped up and ran the show in Game 3. Everyone chipped in. Brown didn't need to be perfect and he wasn't. He had 19 points on 7/18 shooting. Five different Celtics had 15 or more points.
The lead ballooned up to 20 in the second quarter and basically stayed that way for the rest of the night. New York showed us they could come back from late deficits but that wasn't the case in Game 3.
The story of the series has been the Celtics three point shooting. They went 25/100 in the first two games, but they were on the money on Saturday afternoon. They went 20/40 from long range and it was Derrick White who got things started.
The Boston Celtics went into Madison Square Garden needing a win and got one to tighten the Eastern Conference Semifinal after Game 3. Payton Pritchard led the way with 23 points off the bench in the Celtics 115-93 win.
There was only one team on the floor that looked desperate for a win on Saturday afternoon and that was the visitors who came into New York down 0-2. They came out of the gate swinging and went up by double digits in no time.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The Celtics grab a game back in New York after finally seeing their threes fall at MSG.
Hukporti with the jam and that's going to do it!
Achiwu down the lane and slams it down.
Horford from the wing and he gets it to go off the dish from Tatum!
Tatum follows his missed three and lays it up and in down the lane.
Towns to the line after the foul on Kornet and he hits both FTs.
Tatum jacks a three ball and he drills it! He's got 20 on the afternoon!
Towns to the line after the foul on Brown and he hits both FTs.
Porzingis sends Holiday to the line and he hits both FTs.
Holiday strings the three ball from the wing off the dish from Tatum.
Brunson into the paint and he floats it up and in over Horford.
Horford follows up the miss from Tatum and he lays it back up and in.
Bridges into the paint and lays it up and in.
Pritchard pulls up from the elbow and drops it.
Timeout Celtics with 8:41 to go in the 4th quarter!
Bridges sends Prozingis to the line and he hits one of two FTs.
Brunson on the step back and hits it over Horford!!
Timeout Celtics with 9:52 to go in the 4th!
Bridges with an offensive rebound and gets it out to McBride who drills the three ball
Pritchard jacks the three ball off the dish from Tatum, and he's got 5 three balls today!
Brunson in the corner and he drops the three to start the quarter!
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER!
Robinson to the line after the foul on Porzingis and he hits one of two .
Brunson down the lane and he floats it up and in from the paint.
Brunson over the top and he finds Robinson on the ally oop.
Pritchard down the lane and he lays it up and in! He's got 18 on the day.
Robinson to the line after the foul on Kornet but he misses both FTs.
Kornet off the feed from Porzingis and he slams it home!
Robinson to the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Kornet!
Pritchard on the step back and he drops the three ball! He's got 16 on the day!
Bruno to the line after the foul on Pritchard and he hits both FTs.
Timeout Knicks with 2:58 to go in the 3rd quarter!
Brunson to the line after the foul on White and he hits one of two FTs.
Brown pulls up and hits the mid range jumper from inside the FT line.
Tatum running the break and he lobs it up for Horford on the alley oop!
Bridges gets the short jumper to fall.
Tatum to the rack and he gets the bucket and the foul on Brunson!! FT is good.
Anunoby to the rack and he slams it home for his first points of the day.
White in the corner and he drills it off the kick out from Holiday.
Bridges pulls up and hits the mid range jumper from the FT line.
Hart with a drive to the bucket and he slams it down off the pick and roll with Brunson.
Timeout Celtics with 8:25 to go in the 3rd quarter!
Bridges pulls up and knocks it down from the inside.
Brunson gets into the lane and floats it up and in.
White to the line after the foul on Brunson and he hits both FTs.
Holiday from the wing and he strings it over Brunson!
Towns to the line after the foul on Holiday and hits both FTs.
White starts the half off with a three ball from the wing off the tip out from Holiday.
WE ARE BACK IN NEW YORK FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!!!
The Celtics have led by 20 for most of the afternoon but they know that's not going to be enough. Let's see how they come out and try to close this game out in the final 24 minutes from New York.
Pritchard might be the best player for the Celtics over the last two and a half games. He's got 13 off the bench and has hit 3/6 from downtown.
The lead ballooned up to 20 in the first quarter thanks to some sharp shooting from downtown. Boston went 12/19 from three point range. Tatum is 4/5 from downtown and has 14 already.
This game was a must win game for the Celtics and they came out and played like it. KAT had a decent first half, but Brown, Tatum and Pritchard led the way for the Cs.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST HALF WITH THE CELTICS UP BY 25!!!
Brown to the line after the foul on Towns and he hits one of two.
Brown pulls up from long range and drills the triple try from the top of the key!
Towns with the offensive board and put back off the miss from Anunoby.
Brown pulls up from in the lane and hits the 10 footer.
Hart slashes down the lane and throws it home with two hands.
Tatum running the floor and Brown found him for the lay up on the break.
Horford drills a three ball from top of the key off the Tatum dish!
Tatum sends Hart to the line and he hits both FTs.
Tatum was left open off the screen and he strings another three ball!
Brunson was left all alone and he drills the three ball from the wing!!
Towns turns at the FT line and hits the fader from the mid range.
Brown drives baseline, hesitates and puts it up and in over Hart.
Hart to the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Porzingis.
Extra pass from Porzingis and he drills the three ball from the corner!!!
Tatum drills the three off the pull up on the wing!!! He's got 9 on the day.
Burnson banks it up off the glass from out side the lane and gets the foul on Pritchard! FT is good.
White running the floor and Pritchard found him for the lay up on the break.
Brunson finds Hart down the lane and he gets the hanging lay up to fall.
Timeout Celtics with 6:57 to go in the half.
Towns into the lane and he gets the floater to go and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Holiday.
Extra pass from Horford to Pritchard and he nails the three from the wing!
Holiday finds Horford and he banks it home from outside the lane.
Timeout NY with 8:50 to go.
Brown follows his own miss and floats it back up and in.
Kornet to the line after the foul on Robinson and he hits both FTs.
McBride hits the deep two over Kornet off the pull up.
Robinson to the line and he hits one of two FTs.
Payne on the baseline and he hits the fader from the mid range.
Kornet with the follow and tip in off the miss from Horford.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER!!
White, Brown and Pritchard all have 7 each.
Pritchard on the fader from the baseline and he gets it to go as the buzzer sounds.
Robinson missed both FTs and air balled the second!
Achiuwa with the rebound and put back and the foul on Tatum. He misses the FT but Porzingis is called for a foul on Robinson.
Porzingis to the line after the foul on Robinson and he hits both FTs.
Achiuwa to the cup and he lays it up and in on the right side of the lane.
Pritchard drills a three ball from the top of they key and he's been great off the bench in this series. BOS is 6/7 from downtown!
Brunson on the step back jumper from inside the lane and he's got couple field goals
Porzingis to the line after the foul on Achiuwa and he hits both FTs.
Anunoby dumps it down for Towns who slams it home down low.
Tatum spots up from the top of the key off the dish from Brown!!
Timeout Knicks with under 3:00 to go in the first quarter.
Porzingis fouls Robinson but he misses both FTs.
Pritchard misses the pull up but White was there for the rebound and put back.
Pritchard to the line after the foul on Robinson and he hits both FTs.
Bridges down the lane and hangs it high off the glass.
White drills a three ball from the top of the key over the outstretched hand of Hart! BOS is 4/4 from downtown!!
Brunson to the line after the foul on White and he hits both FTs.
Brown to the cup and he lays it up and in. He's off to a nice start this afternoon.
Brunson with his first bucket of the game on a fader over Pritchard.
Brown to the line and he hits both FTs after the TO.
Bridges fouls Brown and he'll go to the line after the timeout with 6:35 to go in the 1st quarter.
Tatum pull up from the top of the key and he drills the long ball!
Brown pulls up from the wing and nails the three ball! BOS have started this game 2/2 from long range.
Towns with a quick trigger three ball from the wing and he strokes it!
Towns to the line after the foul on Horford and he hits one of two FTs.
Holiday fakes the pass to the wing and took it right to the hole for the lay up.
Horford from the wing and he drops it from long range!
Bridges to the cup and he hits the lay up off the hesitation.
Tatum with the steal and he missed the lay up but White was there for the follow and put back.
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!!
Tip off was set for 9:30, but you know that NBA tip offs never go as scheduled. The starting fives are being announced and we about to get underway from Madison Square Garden.
Knicks starting five
The Knicks haven't started well in each of the first two games and tonight in front of their home fans they are going to hope that they can get out to a quick start. Coach Tibs is going with Anunoby, Hart, Towns, Bridges and Brunson.
The stars aligning
The Knicks starting five has yet to be announced but there will be a star studded crowd from Madison Square Garden. The usual cast of characters will be in attendance no star bigger than my main man Andrew Sisk.
Celtics first five
Porzingis is healthy but he will be starting Game 3 on the bench. It's Brown, Tatum, Horford, White and Holiday to start this must win game from New York. The C's have got off to great starts but it's been finishing that's been the problem.
Injury report: Knicks
The Knicks have a two game lead after two games in Boston and return home with a clean injury report. They have stayed healthy throughout the playoffs, despite Jalen Brunson having a couple of scares in the first round. The Knicks are looking to take a 3-0 lead, and having a full roster available is only going to help them.
Injury report: Celtics
Porzingis is good to go today. He has been given the green light for Game 3 which means that the only absence for the Celtics will be Sam Hauser who sprained his ankle in Game 1 and has been out since then. That means they will be a little thinner at least when it comes to three point shooting, but it’s time for Brown and Tatum to step up and carry this team.
Celtics threes
The Celtics live and die by the three point ball. In the first two games it has been the death of them. Through two games they are 25/100 from downtown, but you can bet they are going to keep shooting until those numbers average out. They shot 60 threes in Game 1, setting a record for most threes in a playoff game. Tonight they are going to get their triple tries up, the only question is if they will be able to make a few more than their 25% average.
New pope on NY's side?
The big news out of Rome has had a trickle down effect to the New York Knicks. Pope Leo XIV is a Villanova graduate, and the Knicks are stacked with Villanova alums. Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges all went to Villanova, like the new pope. The new pope is a noted sport fan. He was spotted at a World Series Game a few years ago, and has stated he’s a big basketball fan. He love Nova basketball, and now has shared his blessing on the Nova Knicks despite being from Chicago.
Porzingis back?
Kristaps Porzingis had to leave Game 1 with an illness, and while he came back in Game 2 he didn’t look himself. The 7 foot, sharp shooting Latvian is a key to the Celtics success and if he’s not at 100% the Celtics suffer which we have seen over the last couple of days. He played 13 minutes in Game 1 and didn’t score a single point before being sidelined with injury. He came back for Game 2 but only played 14 minutes although he did score 8 points. He needs to be playing 20+ minutes a game for him to have an impact both on the offensive and defensive end.
Star watch: Celtcs
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have no excuse for how they have played in the second half of the first two games. They both had 23 points in Game 1, but shut off in the second half of the game as the C’s settled for three pointer after three points. Brown went 1/10 from downtown in Game 1 and Tatum went 4/15 as the Celtics shot 15/60 from three point range. Tatum had just 13 points in Game 2 and and Brown had 20 but they went a combined 3/12 from downtown. If the Celtics are going to win a game this series they are going to need their two stars to show up on the road.
Star watch: Knicks
Jalen Brunson hasn’t been perfect in this series, but as the most clutch player in the NBA should do, he has showed up when his team needed him the most. He’s started games struggling from the field but something clicks in the second half and he switches into takeover mode. He had 29 in Game 1, most of those coming in the second half and in overtime and then 17 in Game 2 again most of those coming in the second half. The Knicks know they can comeback from any deficit, but he and the Knicks will be hoping to get off to a better start and avoid having to comeback in the second half.
Game 2 recap
It was almost a spitting image of Game 1 on Wednesday night from TD Garden. The Celtics got up early thanks to a quick start from Jaylen Brown who led them to a double digit lead in the first quarter. They kept that cushion for the first three quarters, and even stretched it out to 20 points with a few minutes left in the third quarter. And then it happened again. The C’s went cold and had just one field goal in the final 8 minutes of the game and the Knicks went on a 23-6 run to stun the Celtics with another massive second half comeback to take a 2-0 lead.
We are live from NYC
Hello everyone and welcome to Madison Square Garden where the New York Knicks are back home with a two game lead over the Boston Celtics and they can make things almost impossible for the defending champions with a win today in front of their home fans. Boston have given up two consecutive 20 point leads in the second half and now they have to go on the road and try to steal a win from Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby who have been carrying the Knicks through the first two games of the series.
Celtics vs. Knicks
The defending champions of the NBA are in serious trouble after losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at home and today they hit the road looking to win their first game of the series before digging themselves too big of a hole. It’s the New York Knicks returning home with a 2-0 lead over the Boston Celtics and AS English will be with you all afternoon providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of Game 3 from Madison Square Garden.