Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard have eased concerns for the Boston Celtics, leading a 115-93 rout of the New York Knicks as the defending champions got their first win in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Tatum had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and Pritchard scored 23 points in Game 3 in New York on Saturday (Sunday AEST) as the visitors reduced their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

The Celtics went 20-for-40 from three-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, but 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 threes.

Jaylen Brown scored 19 points and Derrick White had 17 for the Celtics, who will try to tie the series on Monday night in Game 4, before returning to Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday.

"You've got to beat us four times. That's what it comes down to. Not twice, not once, not three," Brown said. "You've got to win four games, so there's a lot of basketball to be played."

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 seeking their first conference finals appearance since 2000.

"I don't think we came with the mindset of being satisfied, but I think it was just subconsciously satisfied being up 2-0," Brunson said. "Just not the way we need to approach the game."

Boston made more three-pointers than any team in NBA history in the regular season, when they swept all four meetings against New York. But the Celtics were ice-cold to open this series, starting with an NBA playoff record 45 misses in Game 1.

They made their first four three-point shots in a blistering start Saturday and never really slowed down. They finished 6-for-7 behind the arc en route to a 36-20 lead.

Tatum and Pritchard hit consecutive threes for a 55-33 lead with four minutes remaining in the half, and Boston took a 71-46 lead to the locker room.

New York were 5-for-25 behind the arc and shot 68.6 per cent on free throws.

In San Francisco, Anthony Edwards hit a baseline three-pointer with 1:19 remaining and scored 36 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 102-97 for a 2-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Edwards' teammate Julius Randle had a triple-double of 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds,

For Golden State, Jimmy Butler had 33 points, seven assists and seven rebounds and Jonathan Kuminga scored 30 off the bench, but the Warriors still lacked the kind of rhythm they have with Stephen Curry on the floor.

"Obviously with Steph out there, he demands two to three bodies when he's out there on the floor," Butler said.

"When he's not, there's no room for error. You can't make mistakes. You can't turn the ball over. You can't give back all of those things. And then you've got to take the right shots."

Kuminga shot 11-for-18 as the Warriors again mixed and matched while playing without Curry as he nurses a strained left hamstring he injured in Game 1.

Game 4 is on Monday night (Tuesday AEST) at Chase Center.