New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics: Postgame Grades and Analysis

The return home didn't do the Boston Celtics' offense much good, as they dropped Game 3 to the New York Knicks on Friday night, 90-76.

Even a game at the fired-up TD Garden couldn't cure the Celtics' offensive woes. They shot just 40 percent from the field and surrendered 17 turnovers. They now face a 3-0 hole going into Game 4 against the rolling Knicks.

New York's defense again was solid, and their offense continues to hit tough shots and strenuous situations. 

Carmelo Anthony put up 26 points and Raymond Felton ran the offense like a well-oiled machine. Felton posted 15 points and 10 assists.

Jeff Green performed well for the Celtics, going for 21 points and nine rebounds, but his teammates were unable to get things going.

The two teams return to Boston on Sunday for Game 4, which could be the end of the Boston Celtics' season.

Let's hit the Bleacher Report classroom to see how everyone graded out in the Knicks' big Game 3 win.

Point Guards

Raymond Felton, NYK PG: A-

Game 3 was about as good as you'll see Raymond Felton play.

His penetration really opened up the perimeter for the Knicks. Felton was able to slice into the Celtics defense and, more often than not, made the right decision with the basketball. 

Even Felton's missed layups provided the Knicks with great opportunities for second-chance points. All that stemmed from his decision-making, which was on point all night.

He hit all his signatures as a player, grabbing a 15-point, 10-assist double-double.

Avery Bradley, BOS PG: D+

Everything Avery Bradley did in Game 3 was negligible.

His always exhausting defense was relatively ineffective due to the shot-making abilities of the Knicks perimeter players. He hassled the New York backcourt as well as he could, but when the team is shooting that well, pressure defense can't help.

Offensively, Bradley's night was completely forgettable. He played 33 minutes, yet his stat line looks very binary, with a bunch of ones and zeros.

Shooting Guards

Jason Terry, BOS SG: C-

Jason Terry missed a couple wide open shots in his first playoff start this season.

He also proved to be a hole on the defensive end, allowing Pablo Prigioni to hit a couple threes at the outset of the game.

Terry made some noticeably poor decisions with the ball. Whether it was shooting when another pass would've helped, or making an ill-timed passed through traffic, his work didn't deserve a starting spot.

Terry hit some shots in garbage time, so his 14 points and three treys are not indicative of the complete performance.

Pablo Prigioni, NYK SG: B+

It has been a rare occurrence this season for Pablo Prigioni to play north of 30 minutes, but after Game 3, don't be surprise to see it more often.

Prigioni hit two threes in the opening minutes, and added a third later on. He finished with nine points and a team-high mark of plus-13.

Prigioni's hustle was inspiring to the Knicks players, as he hit the floor on a couple of occasions. His shot-making ability is what grants him playing time on this roster, but that defensive effort going after 50:50 balls and coming up with five steals, is what kept him on the floor for 30 minutes.

Small Forwards

Iman Shumpert, NYK SF: B

Offense isn't really Iman Shumpert's thing, but he is a necessity to the New York Knicks' starting lineup.

Throughout the game, Shumpert was active on the defensive end. He came up with three impressive steals that really set the tone for New York's defense. He picked Paul Pierce's pocket a couple times, and jumped passing lanes to disrupt Boston's offense on the perimeter.

Elsewhere, Shumpert picked up eight rebounds, but scored only four points on 1-of-5 shooting.

Paul Pierce, BOS SF: C

Paul Pierce struggled mightily in the first half, missing numerous wide-open shots.

Seemingly throughout, he couldn't hit anything. Jumpers, threes and layups were all glancing off.

Pierce wasn't able to get himself to the free-throw line to get some easy ones, which usually helps him get going. He finally got a couple freebies mid-way through the third quarter, and started to get his offense flowing from there.

He finished with 17 points and five assists, but was just 6-of-15 from the field and surrendered five turnovers.

More was expected out of Pierce in the first game in Boston, but he just doesn't have the legs or rhythm right now.

Power Forwards

Jeff Green, BOS PF: A-

Game 3 was Jeff Green's turn to play well, as he appears to be on some sort of every-other game schedule.

After struggling and missing a couple wide-open threes early, Green wound up playing surprisingly well given the final score. He has a fantastic offensive game. Green had a couple of his patented beautiful drives that led to very athletic-looking layups and three-point plays.

Green finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. He has played well in Game 1 and 3, but took Game 2 off. Hopefully for Celtics fans-sake, he doesn't disappear in Game 4.

Unfortunately, as nice as his drives were, they were few and far between, contributing to the Celtics blowout loss.

Carmelo Anthony, NYK PF: B+

Facing some very tight defense, Carmelo Anthony was forced to hit some highly difficult shots.

He went on quite a run through the middle quarters of making shots. Some were purely miraculous to even get off, but that just made his performance more impressive. 

Overall, Anthony finished 12-of-25, which is a credit to the defense the Celtics played on him. He was constantly facing decisions with double-teams. He scored a game-high 26 points.

He didn't get to the free-throw line, or rebound or distribute, but he didn't really need to. Some of Anthony's passes out of double-teams led to baskets after an additional pass or two. 

Centers

Kevin Garnett, BOS C: B-

Kevin Garnett just doesn't have it right now. It may be age or he may be dinged up, but the explosiveness and range is just not there. 

Even protecting the rim, he has slipped a percentage, allowing the Knicks to penetrate and kick with relative ease.

It is offensively, though, that he has noticeable fallen off in this series. He isn't hitting his go-to 18-foot jumper, and his post moves have shaded to almost entirely fade-aways, turning away from the basket.

Garnett cleaned the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds, but most of those were uncontested defensive boards. He wound up with 12 points, as well, but it took 13 shots to get there.

Tyson Chandler, NYK C: C-

Tyson Chandler may still not be fully healthy, and it shows.

While his lack of production wasn't noticed much because it wasn't necessary, he has been outplayed by Kenyon Martin this series. 

Chandler is usually in charge of protecting the rim and locking down the painted area, but this series has been a real boost to Martin's playing time and responsibilities.

Chandler finished with six points and eight rebounds. The credit really goes to Raymond Felton for whatever offensive Chandler supplied, and the rebounds were mostly open defensive boards.

Sixth Men

J.R. Smith, NYK SG: B

Smith appeared to be having a contest with Carmelo Anthony over who could score with hitting the least amount of rim and backboard.

While he has been on his best behavior for most of the season, he did pull a slightly dirty move in the fourth quarter. After taking exception to a swipe by Jason Terry, Smith landed an elbow on Terry's chest and chin. He earned a flagrant 2 and that was the end of his night.

Before being tossed, Smith tallied 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, in 24 minutes. Defensively, he was able to pick up a couple steals.

Brandon Bass, BOS SG: C

Brandon Bass was subbed out of the starting lineup in favor of Jason Terry. 

Predictably, Bass' numbers suffered. While he has been doing a decent job rebounding in the series, and came up with seven again tonight, but hasn't arrived offensively.

Bass needs to be more aggressive with his mid-range jumper, and use that to clear space in the paint. He scored just three points on 1-of-5 shooting in Game 3.

Benches

New York Knicks Bench: B

Jason Kidd's unselfish offensive play led to multiple easy looks for the Knicks, and kept their offense flowing through multiple personnel changes.

Kidd picked up six rebounds and six assists, having a big effect on the game without scoring a point.

Steve Novak finally got going, and picked up a pair of threes en route to eight points

Kenyon Martin again had a nice night in the paint, going for five points and four rebounds.

Boston Celtics Bench: D

The Celtics bench continued to be a non-factor in this series, as they came up with just 10 points and little else in Game 3. 

Only two others besides Brandon Bass played meaningful minutes. Jordan Crawford came out and hit a couple shots, scoring five points, but didn't receive enough usage to matter.

Courtney Lee was again not used effectively.