Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla says his team tapped into their "darkness" to pull a game back in their series against the New York Knicks.

The reigning NBA champions were 2-0 down against the Knicks after the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but a dominant 115-93 Game 3 victory made it 2-1.

Jayson Tatum finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Payton Pritchard scored 23 points as the Celtics regained some confidence.

The Celtics went 20 for 40 from 3-point range, after going just 25 for 100 in their two losses in Boston.

Having blown second-half leads in the previous two games, Boston showed no signs of doing the same on Saturday, going ahead by 31 but holding strong to avoid going 3-0 down.

"This is the fun part; you don't get into the journey for it to be easy," Mazzulla said.

"You've got to tap into your darkness, that's it. [It was] dark, but in a good way."

Tatum came into the game shooting just 29% in the series, promising to make an improvement, which he did, though he still finished having shot 8-of-20 with nine rebounds and seven assists.

"I wasn't trying to prove anything today to anybody," Tatum said. "It was an important game.

"It was important for us to respond as a team, and just wanted to come out here and win. And that's all that was really on my mind."

Sticking together through it all pic.twitter.com/OFUIIn4UtL

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 11, 2025

As for the Knicks, who fell 1-3 at home in the playoffs, Mitchell Robinson was left frustrated with the Celtics' continued strategy to intentionally foul the free-throw shooter.

He finished 4-for-12, though the fans remained behind him throughout his struggles, and Jalen Brunson acknowledged how big a boost that can be during the tough periods.

"It's a tough position to be in, especially mentally. But you've got to encourage," Brunson said.

"Everyone has each other's backs regardless. No matter what happens, we're going to win together, we're going to lose together. We're going to go through that together."

Game 4 will take place on Monday at Madison Square Garden.