Jayson Tatum had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Payton Pritchard scored 23 points and the visiting Boston Celtics easily got their first win in the Eastern Conference semifinals by routing the New York Knicks 115-93 on Saturday in Game 3.

The Celtics went 20 for 40 from 3-point range after going just 25 for 100 in their two losses in Boston, when they blew 20-point leads in the second half of both games. They went ahead by 31 in this one and there was never anything resembling a comeback for the Knicks.

Tatum, an All-Star who shot just 12 for 42 overall in Boston, and Pritchard, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, both made five 3s.

Jaylen Brown scored 19 points and Derrick White had 17 for the Celtics.

Jalen Brunson scored 27 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who blew a 2-0 lead in this round last year and are still seeking their first conference finals appearance since 2000.

Porter comes through for Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. hasn’t really been able to take off his uniform by himself going on three weeks now because of a sprained left shoulder that has essentially turned him into a one-armed hoopster in these playoffs.

He can’t really guide his jump shot with his left hand ever since he sprained his left A.C. joint in a scramble for a loose ball against the L.A. Clippers on April 22.

It’s hard for him to corral rebounds with both hands and he sometimes winces when passes drift to his left side. Not only that, but on the night he got hurt he revealed that the brace on his left foot was broken and that he’d had a hard time finding a replacement that fits properly.

Yet, there he was picking up the slack on Nikola Jokic’s off-night in Denver’s 113-104 Game 3 overtime win Friday night over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Even though playing through it makes it heal slower, they know it’s not something that’s dangerous to play with, per se,” Porter said. “So, they’re trusting me to go out there and space the floor, make it easier on other guys if I can and then I’ve just got to contribute on the glass and defensively as best I can and be ready to knock down open shots.”

He scored 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting that included a 5-of-6 clip from deep and he pulled down eight rebounds.

“When they shoot the ball it feels like the whole world is in the paint,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “And you just have to win those and sometimes the ball gets tipped and you’ve got to play through the elbows and win the 50-50 knockout defensive rebounds because that leads to controlling the pace and getting our guys in a two-man game late.”

Game 4 is today in Denver.