Knicks completely crumble on home court as Celtics dominate Game 3 — and silence the Garden

Outside Madison Square Garden, it was sunny and beautiful, a cleanable time for nan biggest Knicks location playoff crippled successful complete 2 decades. 

Inside, it was gloomy, a powerful large wind of Celtics 3-pointers that wouldn’t extremity until this Eastern Conference semifinal bid had a vastly different feel. 

The Knicks still clasp a 2-1 lead this series, but that advantage feels incredibly precarious aft Saturday’s 115-93 Game 3 pounding wrong a quiet and dejected MSG. 

This looked for illustration nan first 3 regular-season games betwixt nan 2 teams — 3 Boston romps.

This looked for illustration nan Celtics squad that was expected to cruise past nan Knicks into nan Eastern Conference finals for nan 4th consecutive twelvemonth and was considered a favourite to repetition arsenic champions. 

Entering Saturday, nan Celtics were nan 31st squad successful NBA playoff history to driblet nan first 2 location games successful a best-of-seven series. Only 5 of those person gone connected to triumph nan series.

Boston is looking to beryllium nan sixth. 

After getting unopen down successful Boston, All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown recovered their game, combining for 41 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.

The Celtics deed 20 3-pointers successful 40 attempts aft missing a mixed 75 complete nan first 2 contests.

It was a 25-point crippled astatine halftime and 31 early successful nan 3rd quarter.

There was extended garbage time, arsenic Marv Albert liked to say. 

Unlike nan first 2 games of nan series, nan Knicks weren’t coming backmost from that benignant of shortage again. They ne'er sewage person than 20, mounting up a pivotal Game 4 backmost astatine nan Garden Monday night, and person mislaid 3 consecutive location playoff games. 

Midway done nan 3rd quarter, nan Knicks were slow building momentum.

The lead was 24 erstwhile Jalen Brunson inexplicably dribbled nan shot disconnected his foot. It led to a Tatum layup successful modulation — symbolic of nan Knicks’ mislaid afternoon. 

Really, cipher played good for Tom Thibodeau’s team.

OG Anunoby (two points) didn’t people successful nan first half and has 7 points complete nan past 2 games. Brunson struggled complete nan first 3 quarters.

The rebounding was mediocre early and nan defense was soft.

Mitchell Robinson’s issues astatine nan free-throw statement continued pinch a 4-of-12 showing, dropping him to 11-for-39 successful nan playoffs. 

Brunson led nan Knicks pinch 27 points, but astir of that came pinch nan crippled good successful hand.

Karl-Anthony Towns added an impact-less 21 points and 15 rebounds and Josh Hart had 10.

Payton Pritchard scored 23 points disconnected nan chair for nan Celtics. 

It was 71-46 successful favour of nan Celtics astatine halftime, and location were very fewer positives to return for nan Knicks. They started 4-of-17 from nan field.

They were again outrebounded (minus-five), missed 10-of-12 3-point attempts and were mostly noncompetitive. 

The Celtics made their first 3 3-pointers, and kept connected drilling them from deep.

They were 12-of-19 from region successful nan first half. After struggling mightily successful nan first 2 games, Tatum and Brown had a mixed 31 points complete nan first half connected 50 percent shooting. 

The Celtics built a double-digit lead conscionable 6:35 aft nan tip-off, and they were up by 16 aft one.

It mushroomed to 25 astatine nan break.

The ample crowd sounded for illustration a library.