Something had to give.
After two highly improbable 20-point comeback victories for the New York Knicks in Boston last week, the Celtics had no choice but to make a stand Saturday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals inside Madison Square Garden.
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Once again, Boston went up early, leading by as many as 25 points in the first half. But this time, the Celtics never let up, holding strong for a 115-93 victory in a series the Knicks still lead 2-1.
The Celtics seemed to learn from their mistakes from the previous two games by staying focused and continuing to grind with a big lead. Of course, that was helped by a better shooting performance as Boston went 12 of 19 on 3s in the first half and 20 of 40 for the game.
The Celtics continued to roll, stretching their lead to 30 points in the third quarter. But if we’ve learned anything in the 2025 NBA playoffs, it’s that leads don’t hold. But that wasn’t the case Saturday as five Celtics scored in double figures, led by Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, who had 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Jayson Tatum also hit 5 3s, finishing with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
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It would be easy to say shooting was the key difference in Game 3, but the Celtics also had eight blocks and six steals, displaying an unrelenting energy and vigor that was absent for Boston in the series’ first two games.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, while Karl-Anthony Towns wasn’t his best, scoring 21 points on 5-of-18 shooting and grabbing 15 rebounds. Towns was buoyed by a 10-of-11 performance from the free-throw line.
Adding to matters, Towns appeared to bang up his already-wrapped left ring finger halfway through the second quarter after hitting a jump shot and getting fouled under pressure. Towns went on to hit the and-1 free throw, but was grabbing at the finger while visibly grimacing.
Towns stayed in the game, but occasionally acknowledged the pain in his finger. It is unclear what the extent of the injury is.
Game 4 is 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday in New York.
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