Celtics 3-pointers: Jayson Tatum, Boston flips the script from deep in Game 3 blowout over Knicks

After calamitous three-point shooting across their first two games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics stormed back with a vengeance on Saturday afternoon.

Boston produced a 3-point-shooting epic beneath the glint Madison Square Garden lights in Game 3, setting off a 20-plus-point advantage that held firm as the clock dwindled down.

The Celtics claimed an all-important victory on Saturday, bending the game to their own will en route to a 115-93 shellacking over the Knicks.

The biggest reason for Boston's result change? Besides the desperation of attempting to avoid a 3-0 hole, the Celtics were also spurred on by a likely candidate; 3-point shooting.

📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp

The Celtics dropped 15 more anchors than their adversary, good for 45-point 3-point shooting edge. That can tend to make a difference in shaping a result.

With that, here's what you need to know about Boston's shot-making ways in its critical Game 3 win. 

Celtics 3-point shooting

The Celtics found a rhythm from beyond the arc, canning 20-of-20 triples, a 50 percent success rate.

They fared much worse in the opening two games of the series, seeing effort after effort rattle off the tin, particularly during crunch time.

Under Joe Mazzulla's tutelage, Boston has fired off more shots from beyond the arc than any other team in league history. In 2024, the Celtics sank 1,351 trifectas, the third-highest total in history. They improved that tally to a record 1,457 during the 2024-25 regular season, all while posting a respectable 36.8 percent three-point shooting percentage, the joint ninth-best tally in the league this year.

MORE KNICKS-CELTICS:

• Why Mitchell Robinson has been the Knicks' secret weapon against the Celtics
• How to fix Jayson Tatum's fourth-quarter struggles against Knicks 
• Paul Pierce tasked with walking 20 miles after Celtics promise backfires

Simply, prolific 3-point shooting is part and parcel to Mazzulla's tactical ideology. That method worked wonders during Boston's five-game blitz past the Magic, where the Celtics averaged nearly 12 triples a game on 37.8 percent shooting.

The start of the Knicks series proved a drag. Only one player — Payton Pritchard — posted a 3-point rate above 30 percent. Jayson Tatum, who 5-of-9 triples on Saturday, had especially struggled, connecting on just 5-of-20 attempts in the first two games.

Saturday's showing revealed that such performances were more anomaly than anything else. New York's defense was dogged in the opening two games, but it's not as if the C's weren't missing wide-open looks, either.

NBA PLAYOFFS HQ: Live NBA scores | NBA playoff schedule | NBA playoff bracket

Those attempts started to fall on Saturday afternoon. With a 22-point win in its back pocket, Boston was rewarded for it, too.

Here's a look at how Boston's three-point numbers from Saturday compared to its Game 1 and Game 2 figures.