Charles Barkley questions Celtics-Knicks Game 3 start time: ‘That should be a Saturday night’ in New York City

Thanks to the NBA schedule, Charles Barkley doesn’t think that Madison Square Garden will be quite as lively as it should be when the New York Knicks host the Boston Celtics for Game 3 of their playoff series on Saturday.

After Wednesday night’s Game 2, the Inside the NBA was looking ahead at Game 3, which will be played on Saturday — afternoon.

“Man, why are they playing that game at 3:30? That should be a Saturday night in New York City,” Barkley said. “Because it’d be on fire.”

Charles Barkley calls out the Saturday 3:30 p.m. ET start time for Celtics-Knicks Game 3. #NBA #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/OhZs25CF1F

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2025

Both Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith assured Barkley that “Saturday afternoon is gonna be on fire,” as well, with Smith adding “ain’t nobody gonna miss that game.”

That said, Barkley may have a point. As “on fire” as the Game 3 crowd will be on Saturday afternoon, it would be even more lively on Saturday night. ABC is covering both NBA Playoff games on Saturday. The first will be the Celtics-Knicks game, scheduled to go from 3:30 to 6. After that will be Game 3 of the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Golden State Warriors series. That game starts at 8:30, with the NBA Countdown pregame show starting at 8. The two hours in between will be news and local television.

But while Game 3 may have an earlier-than-ideal start time, we suspect that there will be plenty of emotion at MSG on Saturday. The Knicks fans are nothing if not passionate. We’d expect them to be loud for Game 3, no matter the score of the series. With the Knicks holding a 2-0 lead and having a chance to grab a 3-0 stranglehold against their heavily-favored rivals, look for  Madison Square Garden to be extra boisterous.