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The New York Knicks took the court for the biggest home game they have played in 25 years, as Madison Square Garden buzzed with enough electricity to power all five boroughs. The excitement did not last as long as the team or its fan base hoped, however. Following back-to-back collapses in TD Garden, the Boston Celtics built a big lead once again. But this time, they did not relent, cruising to a 115-93 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
New York trailed by as many as 31 points and never posed a genuine threat to the No. 2 seed. The Knickerbockers shot 40 percent from the field and went just 5-of-25 from 3-point land (20 percent), while also failing to embody the same intensity that helped them overcome two 20-point deficits in Boston. Tom Thibodeau believes that one drawback led to the other.
“The intent was there, but sometimes if you miss shots you tend to not have the same type of energy,” the head coach told reporters after the loss, per SNY Knicks Videos. “There's a lot of different ways you could help to win a game… There's going to be nights you don't shoot it that well but do other things to help the team win. And that's basically what we've done all year. We fell short today, and we have to take a good, hard look at the film and then get ourselves ready for the next game.”
"No one's gonna shoot great every night. There's gonna be nights you don't shoot it that well, but do other things to help the team win."
Tom Thibodeau was asked why the Knicks didn't start the game with the proper intensity: pic.twitter.com/G3gkhky76t
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 10, 2025
What went wrong for Knicks
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Jalen Brunson led the squad in defeat, notching 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting to go along with seven assists. Karl-Anthony Towns was the only other Knicks player to score 20 points, but he was terribly inefficient from the field. The five-time All-Star center's 5-of-18 effort overshadowed the 21-15 double-double he recorded, as did the hand injury he suffered. Though, the thing that cost New York most is arguably a bad habit that plagued the squad for much of the regular season.
The Celtics reclaimed their 3-point form, draining 20 of their 40 attempts from distance in the desperately-needed win. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard each made five treys, while Al Horford was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Boston has the ability and depth to catch fire from behind the 3-point line on any given night, but this has been a particular weakness for Thibodeau's group.
The Knicks allowed opponents to shoot 36.7 percent from downtown, which ranked 26th in the league. They stifled the Celtics in Games 1 and 2, but some of those 3-point struggles were admittedly self-inflicted. Game 4 should go a long way in defining their season. Did New York give the reigning NBA champions the opening they need, or will this team respond with its first complete effort of the series?
The basketball-watching world will tune in on Monday night to see for themselves. Knicks lead 2-1.
