The scene outside Madison Square Garden was vibrant and sunny, making it a perfect day for the Knicks’ biggest playoff game at home in over two decades.
But inside, things were quite different. It felt almost like a storm as the Celtics unleashed a barrage of three-pointers, which cast a shadow over this Eastern Tournament semi-final matchup.
Right now, the Knicks are ahead in the series 2-1, but the sense of security feels shaky after the uninspiring 115-93 loss in Game 3.
Honestly, this match resembled the regular-season encounters, where Boston seemed invincible.
This looked like a Celtics squad that was anticipated to cruise past the Knicks for the fourth consecutive year on their way to the Eastern Conference Finals, with many expecting them to reclaim the championship title.
Before Saturday’s game, the Celtics faced a rare challenge in NBA playoff history, becoming the 31st team to lose their first two home games in a top-7 series. Historically, only five of these teams have managed to win the series.
Now, Boston has its sights set on becoming the sixth team to do so.
In this game, All-Star players Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown found their rhythm, combining for an impressive 41 points, along with 15 rebounds and 12 assists.
The Celtics drained 20 three-pointers out of 40 attempts after struggling significantly in the initial two games.
They even reached a 25-point lead by halftime, pushing it to 31 early in the third quarter.
As Marv Albert aptly put it, there was a lot of “garbage time” during the game.
Unlike the previous matches where the Knicks made late comebacks, they couldn’t claw back from this deficit and now face a challenging Game 4 on their home court, having lost three consecutive playoff games at MSG.
Midway through the third, the Knicks seemed to be gaining some ground.
But just when things started looking up, Jalen Branson inexplicably lost the ball, allowing Tatum to score a layup in transition, symbolizing how the Knicks’ chances evaporated.
Overall, Tom Thibodeau’s team struggled mightily.
OG Anunoby had a dismal showing, only scoring 2 points, with just 7 points over the last two games. Branson also had a tough time in the first three quarters.
The Knicks fell short on rebounds early on and their defense was lackluster.
Mitchell Robinson’s issues at the free-throw line continued, shooting poorly, which didn’t help the team’s effort.
Branson ended up leading the Knicks with 27 points, but many of those felt incidental.
Karl-Anthony Towns managed 21 points and 15 rebounds but without much influence on the game, while Josh Hart added 10 points.
From the Celtics’ bench, Payton Pritchard contributed 23 points.
By halftime, the Celtics were ahead 71-46, and there weren’t many silver linings for the Knicks. They struggled significantly, hitting only four out of their 17 shots.
They were out-rebounded again (minus five), missed a majority of their three-point attempts, and the game felt largely uncompetitive.
The Celtics were quick to find their rhythm, making their first three-pointers and establishing a strong lead early.
By the half, they had a 19-12 lead from beyond the arc. Tatum and Brown found success, combining for 31 points while shooting 50%.
It didn’t take long for the Celtics to establish a double-digit lead, growing it to 16 within just six minutes of the game.
In contrast, the crowd of 25,000 felt subdued, almost as if they were in a library.
