Jayson Tatum, Boston Bash Knicks in Game 3

The Boston Celtics finally spilled the three and now they have a series with the New York Knicks.

New York's long-awaited return home became a metropolitan nightmare on Saturday afternoon, as the Celtics earned a 115-93 victory in Game 3 of the two sides' Eastern Conference semifinal set at Madison Square Garden.

Payton Pritchard scored 23 points in relief to lead the green men while Jayson Tatum had 22. Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 27 in defeat while Karl-Anthony Towns had a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double despite dealing with apparent hand issues throughout the game.

The Knicks now lead the best-of-seven set 2-1 but Boston no doubt built some momentum thanks to the rediscovery of their deep ball. Their historic outside shooting rates made all the wrong headlines after the first two games in Boston (25-of-100) but they shot an even 50 percent (20-of-40), which proved to be the perfect antidote for a Manhattan crowd taking in the most monumental Knicks game in quite some time.

Six different Bostonians hit at least two triples (with Pritchard and Tatum getting five each) while the Knicks as whole sank only five, three alone coming from the arms of Brunson.

Boston led nearly from the get-go, its dominance interrupted only by a 2-2 tie in the early minutes. The lead never went back to a single digit after the Celtics went up by 16 after the first period (which saw them hit six of their first seven tries with an extra point on the line) and the advantage never dipped under 20 following an Al Horford triple with just over two minutes remaining.

May 10, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) grabs a rebound in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Boston ensured there would be no comeback this time around by boosting its lead to as much as 31 before all was said and done. Even with the game well out of reach, the Celtics continued to engage in the intentional fouling of Mitchell Robinson, who hit 4-of-12 subsequent attempts. Knicks fans gathered were at least supportive of Robinson's cause, as his successful sinks at the strip drew the loudest cheers of the night.

Despite basking in the aura of MSG in springtime, the Knicks have lost three of the four games staged between Seventh and Eighth Avenue this postseason. Road teams remain undefeated in both Eastern semifinal sets, as the Cleveland Cavaliers kept that trolling in Friday's win in Indianapolis.

The Knicks will look to get back on the right track when Game 4 is staged at MSG on Monday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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