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NEW YORK – They packed into Madison Square Garden ready to explode, thousands of fans ready to welcome their team back home after the Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics on the road in the first two games of this series.
The Knicks had pulled off a pair of improbable victories, overcoming 20-point deficits in each to take a commanding series lead over the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The crowd – and hundreds more watched on a large screen next to MSG at an outdoor party – was loud and raucous from the time starting lineups were announced.
But that was really the last thing they had to cheer about.
When the game started, the Knicks never led as the Celtics took a double-digit lead and maintained it on the way to a 115-93 victory in Game 3 on Saturday, May 10 to cut the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1.
Game 4 will be Monday night back at MSG (7:30 p.m., ABC).
While it’s not an elimination game, it’s about as close to a must-win as possible for the Knicks, who struggled on both ends of the floor in Game 3.
One of the top reasons the Knicks won the first two games – aside from their stifling defense and grit to overcome those 20-point deficits – stemmed from the Celtics’ struggles from long distance and inability to adjust.
Boston in Games 1 and 2 shot a combined 25 percent from three. The Knicks forced the Celtics into some bad shots. Boston didn’t recover.
That changed in Game 3.
The Celtics, who averaged 48.2 three-point attempts during the regular season as one of the NBA’s top-shooting teams, shot 20-of-40 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
Boston was 12-of-19 from deep in the first half, which ended with the Celtics leading 71-46.
There were multiple times when the Knicks looked primed to start chipping into their large deficit, only for Boston to hit a three and end that chance.
Payton Pritchard, the Sixth Man of the Year, shot 5-of-10 from deep off the bench.
Meanwhile…
The Knicks shot just 5-of-25 (20.0 percent) from long distance.
They went 2-of-12 in the first half.
The Knicks just couldn’t keep up with the Celtics.
Mitchell Robinson is a poor free-throw shooter.
Boston has used that to its advantage, repeatedly fouling the Knicks center and sending him to the line instead of actually having to play defense.
It worked – Robinson went 4-of-12 from the foul line.
The crowd was well aware of his struggles in this series, at one point giving him a loud ovation while he was at the line to provide some encouragement (he responded with a foul shot that was well short of the basket).
Robinson worked on his free throws before the game, though he wasn’t much better.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Knicks vs Celtics: Game 3 takeaways as Boston wins in blowout
Continue reading...
The Knicks had pulled off a pair of improbable victories, overcoming 20-point deficits in each to take a commanding series lead over the defending champion Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The crowd – and hundreds more watched on a large screen next to MSG at an outdoor party – was loud and raucous from the time starting lineups were announced.
But that was really the last thing they had to cheer about.
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When the game started, the Knicks never led as the Celtics took a double-digit lead and maintained it on the way to a 115-93 victory in Game 3 on Saturday, May 10 to cut the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1.
Game 4 will be Monday night back at MSG (7:30 p.m., ABC).
While it’s not an elimination game, it’s about as close to a must-win as possible for the Knicks, who struggled on both ends of the floor in Game 3.
The Celtics finally found their rhythm from three-point range
One of the top reasons the Knicks won the first two games – aside from their stifling defense and grit to overcome those 20-point deficits – stemmed from the Celtics’ struggles from long distance and inability to adjust.
Boston in Games 1 and 2 shot a combined 25 percent from three. The Knicks forced the Celtics into some bad shots. Boston didn’t recover.
That changed in Game 3.
The Celtics, who averaged 48.2 three-point attempts during the regular season as one of the NBA’s top-shooting teams, shot 20-of-40 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
Boston was 12-of-19 from deep in the first half, which ended with the Celtics leading 71-46.
There were multiple times when the Knicks looked primed to start chipping into their large deficit, only for Boston to hit a three and end that chance.
Payton Pritchard, the Sixth Man of the Year, shot 5-of-10 from deep off the bench.
Meanwhile…
It was a tough shooting night for the Knicks
The Knicks shot just 5-of-25 (20.0 percent) from long distance.
They went 2-of-12 in the first half.
The Knicks just couldn’t keep up with the Celtics.
Celtics keep going back to the Hack-A-Mitch strategy… and it worked
Mitchell Robinson is a poor free-throw shooter.
Boston has used that to its advantage, repeatedly fouling the Knicks center and sending him to the line instead of actually having to play defense.
It worked – Robinson went 4-of-12 from the foul line.
The crowd was well aware of his struggles in this series, at one point giving him a loud ovation while he was at the line to provide some encouragement (he responded with a foul shot that was well short of the basket).
Robinson worked on his free throws before the game, though he wasn’t much better.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Knicks vs Celtics: Game 3 takeaways as Boston wins in blowout
Continue reading...
