For 26 minutes, the New York Knicks played even with the Boston Celtics. Then Boston caught fire from deep.
JT drills the 3... the Celtics are 9-11 from three in the 3Q
— NBA (@NBA) February 25, 2024
BOS-NYK on ABC pic.twitter.com/teRjSArrtw
With the battle between Eastern Conference contenders tied at 64-64 in the third quarter, the Celtics made nine of their next 10 three-point attempts as part of a scorching 33-13 run that put the game out of reach. New York never got closer than nine points after that, ultimately losing 116-102.
Boston showed that when their deep balls are dropping, they’re nearly impossible to stop — especially when it’s not just one Celtic doing the damage.
KP and Jrue hit back-to-back 3s to open up Boston's largest lead of the game on ABC! pic.twitter.com/41bXZeM71F
— NBA (@NBA) February 25, 2024
Six different Celtics hit triples during that run, with Kristaps Porzingis nailing all three of his attempts. It’s hard to deny three-point attempts when every player on the floor is making them, from Derrick White to Jaylen Brown to Sam Hauser.
For the third quarter as a whole, Boston went 9 for 11 from deep, keying a performance the New York crowd will never forget. Even that understates the red-hot nature of their shooting, as one of the misses was a desperation 31-foot attempt to beat the buzzer.
The Knicks are shorthanded with injury, but it was a disheartening home defeat for a team that in theory could give Boston trouble with their rebounding dominance.
Of course, rebounding doesn’t matter when your opponent doesn’t miss.
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