BOSTON — Early in the third quarter last night, Jason Terry brought the ball up court with a chance to cut the Knicks’ game-long lead to 10.
Pablo Prigioni stole the ball from him.
And after the Knicks missed their shot on the offensive end, Prigioni grabbed the rebound to keep the possession alive, before Carmelo Anthony then sank a jumper to push the lead back to 14.
Prigioni and fellow starting guard Raymond Felton were terrific last night, as the Knicks starting backcourt helped put them on the brink of their first playoff series win since 2000. The Celtics, meanwhile, are on the brink of a stunning early offseason exit after a 90-76 loss at TD Garden in Game 3 of their first-round series.
Prigioni scored nine points (all in the first half) and recorded five steals (four in the first half), while Felton posted 15 points, 10 assists and two steals, his second straight superb effort.
“I think Pablo and Ray set the tone,” Jason Kidd said.
Prigioni, the 35-year-old Argentinian rookie, missed Game 1 of this series with a sprained ankle, then returned for Game 2, when he scored one point with five assists. But last night he was magnificent — quick, active and aggressive.
Prigioni had said after Game 2 that his ankle was at 75-80 percent.
“Now it’s 85,” he said last night.
Playing in his first career road playoff game, Prigioni scored the Knicks’ first basket — a 3-pointer from the top of the circle — and soon drained a corner trey to put the Knicks up 8-4. Then, after Boston had closed to 26-23, Prigioni drilled another 3 from up top, prompting a 21-8 run that gave the Knicks a 47-31 halftime cushion.
“A lot of credit goes to Pablo the way he started off the game,” Anthony said.
Felton delivered 16 points and seven rebounds in Game 2, and last night he was just as effective, with 15 points and 10 assists. In his first Knicks postseason, he’s averaging 14.7 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds while committing just 1.7 turnovers.
Including the playoffs, the Knicks are 17-1 when Felton and Prigioni comprise the starting backcourt. They have a chance to move to 18-1 tomorrow in Game 4 — and a chance to move into the Eastern Conference Semifinals together.