NEW YORK – The Boston Celtics had a few days to think about blowing another 20-point lead to the New York Knicks. There was plenty of blame to go around for the meltdowns, which put the defending NBA champions down 2-0 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series heading to Madison Square Garden.
Star Jayson Tatum said poor execution at the end of games was one reason for the collapses, but his play in particular needed to get better — and he emphatically said it would.
His words clearly made their mark. He and his teammates ensured there would be no Knicks comeback in Game 3.
Payton Pritchard hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points off the bench, leading five players in double figures as Boston built another big lead, up 16 points after one quarter, and went on to dismantle the listless Knicks 115-93. The Celtics cut their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said his team had to ‘tap into your darkness’ in the days leading up to Game 3 to secure its first victory of the series.
‘I’ve said it 1,000 times. There’s no one way of how it’s supposed to go,’ Mazzulla said. ‘There are no expectations here. We’re on a path, trying to go after greatness. You just always stick to the process of what you think gives you the best chance to win on that possession and to win in that game.’
Game 4 is Monday night in New York (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Knicks are seeking their first conference finals appearance since 2000. Last year, they blew a 2-0 series lead in this round to the Indiana Pacers.
Tatum scored 22 points, with nine rebounds and seven assists, Jaylen Brown had 19 points, and Derrick White added 17 points for Boston, which led wire-to-wire.
For the Knicks, any energy and momentum coming off two historic road victories went away as the sellout Madison Square Garden crowd had little to cheer about. The Celtics played like the team in control of the series, building a 25-point halftime lead, with a mix of 3-point shooting and forcing the Knicks into ill-advised shot attempts while they were trying to get back into the game.
The Celtics returned to the identity that carried them throughout their 61-win regular season. Boston set an NBA record with 1,457 3-pointers and 3,955 attempts. The approach cost them, though, in Game 1 of the series, when they missed 45 shots from beyond the arc in a three-point overtime loss.
Boston got back to its sharpshooting ways in Game 3, hitting 20 of 40 shots from 3-point land, a far cry from the mind-blowing 75 missed 3s in the first two games in Boston.
White and Jrue Holiday continued the onslaught with 3-pointers at the start of the second half for the Celtics, who led by as many as 31 before sitting most of their starters in the fourth quarter.
They also fouled Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, the team’s worst free-throw shooter, in the third quarter. Robinson only hit four of his 12 free-throw attempts, including an airball, encapsulating the day for the Knicks. New York got no closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Jalen Brunson, the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, had 27 points and seven assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and 15 rebounds. New York shot 40% and made five of its 23 3-point shot attempts.
