The New York Knicks have pushed the Boston Celtics into a hole no NBA team has ever climbed out of-down 0-3 in a playoff series. Teams that have lost the first three games of a seven-game series in the NBA playoffs are 0-103 in those series.
Carmelo Anthony led the charge for the Knicks, scoring 26 points on 12-of-25 shooting. It was not Anthony's best effort of the season; he had just one rebound, no assists, and did not make a single trip to the free throw line. Still, it was more than enough to blast through the Celtics, who seem to have aged quickly in this first round series.
"Guys are hungry," Anthony said. "We really want this, we feel like it's right there in the palm of our hands."
Knicks point guard Raymond Felton had a great game in support of Anthony, scoring an efficient 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and also adding 10 assists to the mix. Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith gave the Knicks 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench, but was tossed from the game in the third quarter for knocking Jason Terry to the floor with an elbow. He was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and could face a fine or suspension from the league after the incident is reviewed.
"He'll learn from it. I don't think he was trying to hurt the kid, I thought he was trying to clear space, but hey, they saw it differently," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said. "I'm going to stay in his ear and make sure he learns from it."
Kevin Garnett tried to turn the clock back a bit in Game 3, putting up a double-double that included 17 rebounds, but he could only manage 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the floor. He was strong on the glass and contributed two steals, but like the rest of his team, Garnett was unable to consistently put he ball in the basket. The Celtics have not broken the 80-point mark once in the last three games.
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