New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

With two gritty road victories under their belt, the New York Knicks are poised to strike another blow against the Boston Celtics in Game Three at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

For the Celtics, the focus is on regaining their footing to avoid a daunting 3-0 deficit, which would nearly extinguish their hopes of defending their title.

The 2025 playoffs have been marked by stunning turnarounds, and the Knicks pulled off two in five days, overcoming a 20-point gap to claim Game Two at TD Garden on Thursday.

While Game One required overtime to secure the win after erasing a 20-point deficit, the Knicks sealed Game Two in regulation, with Jalen Brunson delivering crucial free throws for a 91-90 victory.

Josh Hart, posting his first 20-point performance of these playoffs, was pivotal for the Knicks, shining on both ends of the court, particularly in the fourth quarter with five rebounds and two blocks.

Now leading the series 2-0, the Knicks have reversed a troubling regular-season trend, where they dropped all four games against the Celtics by a combined 65 points.

Halfway to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2000, Saturday’s hosts are one win away from potentially clinching the series before Game Four on Tuesday.

The Celtics, who dominated the revamped Knicks in October’s season opener with a 132-109 rout, set the tone for their regular-season encounters.

Yet, in their final regular-season clash, Boston narrowly prevailed in overtime, hinting that the Knicks were starting to crack the code against the defending champions—a trend now clear in the first two games of this playoff showdown.

Karl-Anthony Towns looked back to his best with a 21-point, 17-rebound double-double on 9-16 shooting last time out after losing three consecutive games by less than 20 points.

After scoring a game-high 29 points in the first game, OG Anunoby had a poor performance in Game Two, scoring only five points in 38 minutes of play.

Due to an ankle injury, Sam Hauser missed Thursday's game against the Boston Celtics and is extremely unlikely to play this weekend either.

Al Horford has taken Kristaps Porzingis' starting spot due to his recent troubles, and the Latvian international will need to get back to his best in order to rejoin the team.