Celtics’ three-point frenzy may have sparked from this critical Knicks decision

This felt inevitable. 

Eventually, nan Celtics would commencement hitting their unfastened 3-pointers. They person excessively galore shooters not to. 

One determination by Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau besides whitethorn person served arsenic a catalyst. 

After going a sadistic 25-for-100 successful nan opening 2 games of nan series, nan Celtics deed 50 percent of their 3-pointers (20-for-40) during nan Knicks’ 115-93 Game 3 nonaccomplishment Saturday afternoon astatine Madison Square Garden. The Knicks changeable a sadistic 20.0 percent (5-for-25) from heavy themselves, meaning nan Celtics had a 45-point advantage from 3-pointers. 

“It was conscionable a matter of time,” Jayson Tatum said. “We’re each professionals, we activity really difficult connected our craft, put a batch of clip in. You understand there’s times wherever your changeable mightiness not beryllium falling, but you cognize it ever balances out.” 

The Knicks’ 5 made 3-pointers were their fewest of nan postseason. There were only 3 regular-season games successful which they had fewer. 

In nan first 2 games of nan series, nan Celtics changeable 25 percent (12-for-48) connected wide-open 3s (closest defender 6-or-more feet away).

In nan 4 regular-season matchups, nan Celtics changeable 46.3 percent (37-for-80) connected wide-open 3s against nan Knicks, meaning it was highly improbable those shooting woes would proceed overmuch longer. 

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And connected Saturday, nan Celtics yet made them pay. 

“We sewage unfastened shots, sprout them pinch confidence, sound them down,” Jaylen Brown said. “We sewage awesome shooters connected this team. … I deliberation we tin moreover sprout nan shot moreover amended and beryllium moreover much aggressive. As we get much comfortable successful this series, hopefully we’ll beryllium capable to spot that.” 

The Knicks reverted to driblet sum connected screens connected Saturday aft switching almost everything during nan first 2 games of nan series.

Drop sum is what they mostly utilized successful nan 4 regular-season games, pinch unsmooth results, and their switching had seemed to rattle nan Celtics a spot successful nan first 2 games of this series. 

Follow The Post’s sum of nan Knicks successful nan 2025 NBA Playoffs

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“Obviously they are going to sprout their 3s nevertheless they get them,” Jalen Brunson said. “Fortunately for us, they were missing successful Games 1 and 2. Tonight they made them. When it comes to our pick-and roll-defense, we are going to person our covers and we’re going to instrumentality to what we do and we’re going to set erstwhile we request to adjust, but everything we request to do has to beryllium pinch much strength and much urgency and much force. Just from that standpoint, it’s not really schematically, it’s much do we want it? And coming evidently that wasn’t nan answer.” 

It was a funny determination from Thibodeau. 

“There’s going to beryllium a batch of pick-and-rolls successful nan game,” Thibodeau said. “What we ever do is we measure really galore were defended well, really galore weren’t defended well? How galore did they make a reliable changeable against? Was nan strategy executed properly? Was it done pinch nan due magnitude of intensity? Was everyone tied together? So we’ll look astatine each those things.”