Four Studs, Two Duds As Celtics Thrash Knicks In Pivotal Game 3

The Celtics got off the mat in Game 3.

Boston, despite the general public’s prognostications of doom, was able to silence some of the noise surrounding an ugly two-game stretch and got back into their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the New York Knicks.

Madison Square Garden, in particular, got really quiet on Saturday,

The C’s aren’t done climbing out of the hole they dug themselves, but as we await another pivotal matchup, let’s take the time to recognize the studs and duds from a 115-93 victory that helped push the series to 2-1:

STUDS

Payton Pritchard
Pritchard’s ability to match the energy and effort of New York was on full display Saturday. Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet both benefited greatly from playing with the Sixth Man of the Year, who finished with 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting — while mixing in a few good feeds that led to either missed shots or free throws.

Jaylen Brown
It’s been a while since we’ve seen this version of No. 7.

Brown’s knee clearly wasn’t right down the stretch, but his explosiveness was back in this one and allowed him to take advantage of a strong shooting night by killing defenders off the dribble. Boston played five out throughout the first half, which opened things up and led to a 19-point, plus-29 performance from the four-time All-Star.

Jrue Holiday
Did you see that pass he made early in the third quarter?

Holiday didn’t fill the box score — eight points, four assists, one steal — but this was another performance where his intangibles shone through. Winner.

Common Sense
The Celtics’ shots were going to start to fall eventually, which you should have already known.

Boston finished 20-of-40 from beyond the arc, which is quite a difference from their combined 25-for-100 performance in the first two games of the series. Jayson Tatum hit 5-of-9, Al Horford hit 3-of-4 and Pritchard went 5-of-10.

DUDS

Kristaps Porzingis
Porzingis isn’t right.

ESPN’s broadcast pointed it out early, but he just seems to be two steps behind everyone else due to the viral illness that reportedly has been lingering over the last several weeks. Boston will continue to give him minutes in hopes that the fatigue dissipates, but might want to think about more Neemias Queta minutes.

Mitchell Robinson
Robinson becomes unplayable at times due to his inability to hit free throws. The Celtics started hacking him early, which led to a 4-for-12 showing from the charity stripe that forced Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau to play him a series-low 19 minutes.