Winners, losers from NBA playoffs: Knicks inch closer to Finals

Landry Shamet, New York Knicks

Landry Shamet has made seven three-pointers in the series with the Cavaliers. Six of them have come in the fourth quarter or overtime. In Game 3, Shamet went 4-for-5 from behind the arc and racked up three assists, and all of those passes led to three-pointers. He also drew a foul while shooting a three-pointer in the fourth.

Shamet has become a valuable bench piece for the Knicks and was the biggest reason, besides Jalen Brunson, that the team pulled off their 22-point comeback in Game 1. And he may not have even made the team out of training camp had Malcolm Brogdon not retired just before the season.

Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

Brunson could have been chosen as a "winner" for nearly every game of the Knicks' 10-game playoff win streak. Saturday, it's hard to deny him after he had 30 points and six assists while going 10-for-12 from the foul line.

The Cavaliers have tried to go at the smaller Brunson on defense, but he's more than countered with his offense. At times, he simply seemed to be playing harder and moving faster than anyone on the Cavaliers, like when he outran most of the team and scored on Harden after a simple rebound.

Losers

Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers

Evan Mobley is a former Defensive Player of the Year who anchored a defense that let the Knicks score at will in Game 3. He scored 24 points in Game 3, though six came in garbage time, grabbing six rebounds and committing five turnovers, and went 1-for-6 on threes. He shot 9-for-12 on two-pointers — go inside, Mobley!

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift usually gets to see victories when she goes to big sporting events, thanks to the success of her fiancé, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs. She and Kelce sat courtside and witnessed Ohio native Kelce's favorite team get beaten by double digits. Worst of all, she had to watch him chug a beer during a timeout, as the "Life of a Showgirl" met the "Life of a Frat Boy."

James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers

Harden shot 1-for-7 on three-pointers and committed six turnovers. Those are the signature statistics of a James Harden playoff nightmare, and that bad dream continued in Game 3.

Cleveland ticket sellers

The Cavaliers tried to stop Knicks fans from taking over Rocket Arena like they did the Philadelphia 76ers' home court in the second round. They restricted sales to buyers who had billing addresses in certain areas of New York and Pennsylvania to keep the orange and black fans from taking over.

Unfortunately, the Cavs can't control the resale market, which showed that 41 percent of sales for Game 3 in Cleveland came from New York and New Jersey. It was visible during the game with the gaps in the Cavs' colored-coded sections and audibly, when loud cheers followed Knicks highlights.