Celtics 115, Knicks 93: FULL Game 3 Log

The New York Knicks are hoping to bring home some Boston brilliance home with them.

New York will go for a wholly unexpected 3-0 lead over the defending champion Boston Celtics on Saturday afternoon, and they'll have a chance to do so in friendly surroundings: following a pair of comebacks from 20 points down in Beantown, the Eastern Conference semifinal series now shifts to Madison Square Garden, where thousands of Knicks fans anticipate similarly thrilling and rewarding antics on their own hardwood.

The Knicks, surprisingly enough, haven't taken advantage of homecourt in this otherwise fruitful postseason, dropping two of three at their Garden in the opening round against Detroit. They're undefeated on the road, winning five consecutive games away from Manhattan in a single postseason for the first time in franchise history.

New York comes into Game 3 with a blank injury report. Boston has only Sam Hauser (ankle sprain) listed as doubtful. Kristaps Porzingis did not appear among the ailing despite a lingering illness that kept him out of a good part of the opener earlier this week.

Starting Lineups

KNICKS: OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns
CELTICS: Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White

Officials: Zach Zarba, Courtney Kirkland, Justin Van Duyne (alternate: Jacyn Goble)

FINAL: Celtics 115, Knicks 93

4th Quarter

0.0—Achiuwa and Hukporti close out scoring for the Knicks and that ends the game.

2:06—Boston continues to score despite the Knicks' de facto surrender. Timeout Knicks. Following the timeout, Boston finally puts its subs in while Ariel Hukporti comes in for Towns. (115-89 BOS)

3:06—With Towns at the foul line again, the Knicks admit defeat, and insert Achiuwa, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet, and Delon Wright (110-89 BOS)

3:13—Despite a Tatum three, Horford checks back in. Starters remain mostly in. (110-87 BOS)

4:27—Knicks cut the lead to 20 on more Towns free throws. Horford sits for Kornet (107-87 BOS)

5:03—The Celtics continue to respond to any Knicks threat with timely three-pointers. Starters remain in for each side. (107-85 BOS)

8:41—The Celtics call timeout. Brunson and Horford exchange words before they go to their benches

9:36—Porzingis is fouled by Bridges but makes only one of two at the line (100-79 BOS)

9:52—Threes from Brunson and Miles McBride counter another from Pritchard and cut the lead to 20. Celtics call timeout (99-79 BOS)

11:53—Brunson finally the Knicks back down below 25 with a three-pointer to open the fourth (96-73 BOS)

3rd Quarter: Celtics 96, Knicks 70

0.0—The Knicks score the final five points of the period but still trail by 26

1:33—Robinson scores on an alley-oop off a feed from Brunson (96-67 BOS)

1:43—After a Robinson failed trip at the line, the Celtics back up 30-plus with doubles from Porzingis and Pritchard (96-65 BOS)

2:34—The Celtics hack Robinson after a Pritchard three. This time, he makes both (92-65 BOS)

2:58—Timeout Knicks as the third quarter clock dips under three. They haven't been able to cut it back below 25 since Anunoby's dunk. (89-61 BOS)

5:03—Towns is charged with his fourth foul. Robinson enters.

6:36—Following a Brunson turnover, Brunson fouls Tatum on a successful fastbreak, leading to an and-one (85-58 BOS)

7:21—Anunoby gets on the scoreboard with a dunk (82-58 BOS)

7:40—Bridges keeps the Knicks run going after the timeout but White immediately hits a three (82-56 BOS)

8:25—Amidst a slow yet steady 6-0 run for the Knicks, capped off by a Hart dunk, the Celtics call timeout (79-54 BOS)

10:21—The Celtics go up by 30 after a Holiday three and White free throws (79-48 BOS)

10:56—Towns once again writhes his hand in pain after a Holiday foul. He nonetheless hits two free throws (74-48 BOS)

11:17—The Celtics pick up where they left off, as White hits a corner three earned off a Holiday swat (74-46 BOS)

Halftime: Celtics 71, Knicks 46

2nd Quarter

0.0—Towns' three-pointer falls short at the buzzer. No foul is called despite some major contact from Holiday on the shot.

3.0—Towns commits his third foul on a Brown drive. Brown hits one (71-46 BOS)

1:41—A Horford three and Tatum's score on Brown steal establish a new largest lead (65-42 BOS)

2:41—Brunson hits his first three of the day (the Knicks' second) but Tatum instantly responds with his fourth (60-40 BOS)

4:15—Hart hits two free throws after a Porzingis foul. Boston is in the penalty. (55-35 BOS)

4:31—Threes from Tatum and Pritchard sandwich a White block of Brunson and the Celtics go back up 22 (55-33 BOS)

5:22—Following a White fastbreak, Brunson earns a successful and-one (49-33 BOS)

6:15—The Knicks' mini-run is stifled when Towns is charged with offensive goaltending.

6:57—Following a Holiday turnover, the Knicks score on back-to-back possessions, Hart gets a driving double. Boston calls timeout (47-30 BOS)

7:31—Towns stops the bleeding with a successful and-one, despite shaking his hand in pain (47-28 BOS)

7:58—Pritchard's three, giving him 10 points, puts the Celtics up 22. The Knicks trailed by as much as 20 in each of the first two games (47-25 BOS)

8:50—Following consecutive buckets from Brown and Horford, the Knicks face their largest deficit yet and call another timeout (44-25 BOS)

9:46—Robinson commits his third foul and places Luke Kornet at the line. Towns replaces him while Kornet hits both. (40-25 BOS)

10:32—Robinson finally hits a free throw, drawing loud cheers from MSG (38-23 BOS)

1st Quarter: Celtics 36, Knicks 20

0.0—Pritchard's buzzer-beating double firmly places the first period in Boston's corner. Pritchard has seven off the bench (36-20 BOS)

17.5—Scoring off a Robinson offensive rebound, Achiuwa gets the crowd going with a putback, and-one. He misses the freebie but Porzingis gets his second foul, which sends Robinson back to the line. He misses both. (34-20 BOS)

39.0—Robinson re-enters for Towns and is charged with his own second foul. Porzingis hits two as the lead goes to 16 (34-18 BOS)

2:55—Another three, this one from Tatum, ups the lead and leads to a Knicks timeout. Hart returns to the bench while Precious Achiuwa replaces Robinson (27-12 BOS)

3:14—The Celtics sent Mitchell Robinson to the line. He misses both.

3:16—Towns re-enters the game, replacing Hart, who goes to the New York locker room

3:33—The Celtics finally miss a three-pointer (Payton Pritchard) but White's putback makes it a 12-point lead (24-12 BOS)

5:25—A White triple creates a 10-point lead. Boston is 4-of-4 from deep (20-10 BOS)

5:45—Following Brunson free throws, Porzingis enters for the first time, replacing Horford (17-10 BOS)

6:10—Brunson ends the Celtics' 8-0 run with a double (15-8 BOS)

6:35—Towns is charged with his second foul, which will send Brown to the line. Timeout Knicks, down by seven. Tatum hits both after the break. (15-6 BOS)

7:33—Tatum hits a three after Brown and Boston is 3-of-3 in the early going (13-6 BOS)

9:10—Towns hits his first three-pointer of the series (7-6 BOS)

9:33—Following a Holiday double, Towns goes to the line when he's fouled by Holiday. He makes one of the first two free throws of the day (7-3 BOS)

10:33—Horford hits a three to give Boston the lead back (5-2 BOS)

10:43—A Brunson steal becomes a driving Bridges double to tie the game (2-2)

11:21—White puts back in a Tatum miss off a steal and Boston takes the first lead (2-0 BOS)

12:00—New York wins the tip and the game is underway.

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