Celtics Cruise vs. Knicks, Timberwolves Go Up 2-1 on Warriors

In a pair of Game 3’s on Saturday, the Boston Celtics dominated the New York Knicks 115-93 at Madison Square Garden to notch their first win their best-of-7 series, while at Chase Center the Minnesota Timberwolves took a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-7 series against the Golden State Warriors with a 102-97 win Saturday night.

From Madison Square Garden, the Celtics, who had made just 25-of-100 long distance heaves through the first two games of the series (an NBA record for 3-point futility) made 20-of-40 from 3-point range on Sunday, 48.2% from the field and 15-of-17 from the line on their way to their 22-point win. 

Jayson Tatum, who is shooting only 32.3% in the series on 21 shots per game, was 8-for-20 on Saturday afternoon (22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals). Star teammate Jaylen Brown, who is shooting a similar 36.1% on 20 shots in the series, missed 11 of his 18 shots on Saturday and finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Derrick White was 6-for-10 (3-for-6 from deep) for 17 points, and Al Horford was 6-for-9 and made three of his four 3-point attempts for 15 points and posted 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. 

Payton Pritchard, always instant electricity off the bench, led the Celtics with 23 points in 35 minutes, making 8-of-16 from the field and connecting on 50% of his trifectas (5-of-10). 

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points and 7 assists, matching Tatum in minutes with 40. Brunson was 9-for-21 from the field, 3-for-8 from downtown, and made 6-of-7 free-throws. Karl-Anthony Towns missed 13 of his 18 shots, and was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He did however post a game-high 15 rebounds along with his 21 points. Mikal Bridges was 6-for-10 for 12 points, and Josh Hart scored 10 but was just 3-of-9 shooting. 

The difference in the game, like a lot of Celtic victories, was the 3-point shooting, with the Cs converting 20 while the Knicks missed 20 (5-of-25). The Knicks also missed 11 of their free-throw attempts (24-of-35). The Knicks shot 40% from the field. 

It is stating the obvious, but with a Celtic team that has 3-point shooters at every position, it is crucial to make your own if you are going to hang with them. The Knicks did not do that, and as a result, find themselves up 2-1. Game 4 is Monday at 7:30 p.m.

In San Francisco, Anthony Edwards scored 36 points (4 rebounds, 4 assists) on 13-for-28 from the field and 5-for-14 from 3-point range in 44 minutes of action, and Julius Randle registered a triple-double of 24 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds (10-for-23 shooting) to lead the Timberwolves to their five-point win. Edwards looked more like himself on Saturday night, being aggressive driving to the basket and finishing inside - his biggest highlight of the night was a one-handed slam down the lane on Warriors’ center Kevon Looney. His biggest shot happened down the stretch, when after he missed a triple, Rudy Gobert back-tapped the ball to Julius Randle, who drove and found Edwards in the same spot. This time? Bottom. The corner three gave the Timberwolves a 96-89 lead with 1:18 to go. Just one minute earlier, Edwards stripped Jonathan Kuminga in the paint, and Jaden McDaniels threw the ball ahead to Randle who found the trailing Gobert for a two-handed dunk and a foul with 2:05 remaining. Throughout the course of the game, Randle was once again aggressive, attacking and finishing while finding open teammates. The Timberwolves outscored the Warriors 33-24 in the fourth quarter. 

The Warriors were led in the game by Jimmy Butler, who played his best game of the playoffs with 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists (12-for-26 shooting). He was getting into the paint and to the line, finishing 7-for-9 from the line. He played a team-high 43 minutes. 

Kuminga, who appeared in just three of the Warriors’ seven games in the first round, played 36 minutes on Saturday night which tied his season-high. In a game where they needed him with Stephen Curry remaining out and Brandin Podziemski shooting 1-for-10, Kuminga delivered with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks on 11-for-18 from the field, 3-of-4 from downtown and 5-for-6 from the line. Buddy Hield made 4-of-8 triples for 14 points.  

The efforts from Butler and Kuminga were not enough, as both combined for 65% of the Warriors’ points when they needed offense from everybody. Draymond Green, who fouled out with 4:38 remaining, scored only 2 points on 1-for-4 shooting. 

The Timberwolves shot 43.9% to the Warriors’ 43.2%, and made 13-of-34 triples while the Warriors were 10-for-23 from deep. Both teams were 17-for-21 from the free-throw line. Although the Timberwolves turned the ball over 18 times to the Warriors’ 14, they did finish the game with a 44-36 rebounding advantage. 

Game 4 goes Monday at 10 p.m.