Monday night’s battle at The Garden will go a long way in determining the direction of the Knicks-Celtics series in the East Semifinals.
With New York up 2-1 on the defending NBA champs ahead of 7:30 PM ET tip-off, Jalen Brunson and Co. can take a commanding lead going back to Boston with a big win in front of the Knicks faithful.
Boston got back into the win column with a 115-93 win in Game 3 after dropping their first two games at home (thanks to back-to-back blown 20-point leads).
And according to ESPN Analytics, the Celtics have a strong chance of tying things up before the series shifts to Beantown.
Per the network’s Matchup Predictor, the C’s have a 53% chance of evening the series up 2-2 with a Game 4 win. While the Basketball Power Index gives the Knicks a slightly lesser 47% chance of leaving the Madison Square Garden floor with a victory.
Boston is also a 5.5-point favorite according to ESPNBET after beating New York by 22 the last time they met.
When it comes to the Celtics’ chances it all comes down to whether or not they’re hitting their threes.
Boston missed a combined 75 shots from deep in the first two games before bouncing back with a 50% effort (20-of-40) with their backs against the wall.
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Joe Mazzulla has made it clear that his team is going to continue do what it does — drive, kick and shoot the three.
Will the Knicks be up to the task of stopping them tonight? We’ll find out.
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