The Boston Celtics needed a statement win in Game 3 against the New York Knicks to keep their chase for consecutive NBA titles alive. Boston lost the first two games at home, despite leading by as many as 20 points in both games.

Boston's dive-and-kick game is a serious weapon. Every member of the team's top-eight rotation can attack off the bounce or on the catch. Furthermore, all of them have legitimate scoring gravity. So, when the Celtics attack the paint, the defense usually collapses or overhelps, creating open shooting opportunities elsewhere on the court.

In this game, unlike the horror-show conclusions of Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden, the Jays wrote a different ending.