The China Mail - Knicks dominate Cavs, Hawks claw back against Celtics

The Atlanta Hawks also came up with a big home win, downing the Boston Celtics 130-122 to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole in their Eastern Conference series -- a deficit no NBA team has ever recovered from to win a best-of-seven set.

In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 21 points and RJ Barrett added 19 for the Knicks, who rebounded from a humbling game two defeat in Cleveland.

The Knicks' suffocating defense contributed to a dismal night for Cleveland's Darius Garland, who missed 17 of his 21 shot attempts on the way to 10 points.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 to lead the Cavs, who became the first team this season to be held under 80 points in an NBA game.

To top it off, Garland -- who scored 32 points in the Cavs' win on Tuesday -- needed treatment on his left ankle in the second half after stepping on a courtside photographer's foot.

The game was the first playoff contest at Madison Square Garden in two years and the "chaos" that New York native and Cavs star Mitchell predicted materialized.

Both teams made sloppy starts in the raucous atmosphere, but the Knicks steadied to take a 13-point halftime lead that they pushed to as many as 27.

"This was great," said Brunson, but he warned that the Cavs would punch back in game four on Sunday.

"You want to carry it over, but at the same time we've got to be focused, we've got to be ready to go. It's not just going to be handed to us -- we've got to go out there and get it."

In Atlanta, Trae Young scored 32 points and Dejounte Murray added 25 as the hot-shooting Hawks clawed back into their series against the Celtics.

Young shook off two sub-par performances with a stellar display.

"Our whole team was making plays all night and it was up to me to go make the right one," Young said. "It's not only to score, sometimes it's to get everybody involved.

"So I'm just trying to make the right play and tonight I did."

Young connected on 12 of 22 shots from the field, pulled down six rebounds and handed out nine assists.

He also produced a pair of blocks as the Hawks out-hustled the second-seeded Celtics -- who fell to Golden State in the NBA Finals last year.

- A matter of will -

Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Boston. Marcus Smart added 24 and Jaylen Brown had 15 for the Celtics, who drained 21 three-pointers but were out-rebounded 48-29.

Smart said there was no secret to the Hawks' advantage on the boards, which led to their 23-9 edge in second-chance points.

"It's just a matter of will," Smart said, "and they wanted it more tonight."

Atlanta shot 67.4 percent from the field in the first half and shot 56 percent for the game overall, Boston managing only for short stretches in the second half to turn up the defensive volume.

Tatum still had a chance to tie it with 58.1 seconds left but his three-point attempt bounced off the rim and the Hawks pulled away.

"I've got to play better," said a dejected Tatum, who said he made too many untimely turnovers and poor decisions. "This one tonight is on me."

Atlanta will try to level the series when they host game four on Sunday.

Elsewhere on Friday, Western Conference top seeds Denver tried to take a 3-0 stranglehold on their series when they visited the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Q.Yam--ThChM