Early Yankees meltdown, Carlos Rodón flop is exactly what Knicks fans didn't need Saturday

Carlos Rodón hasn't had a tough start in a month. The New York Yankees came out firing on Friday night, setting the tone in their third consecutive win, highlighted by Jasson Dominguez's three home runs. The New York Knicks entered Game 3 at home against the Boston Celtics Saturday afternoon carrying a 2-0 lead and ready to overshadow whatever was going on in Sacramento. And yet ... nobody could manage to distract anyone from anything, instead overwhelmed by a rolling chewed-up gumball of grotesque sports performances.

As the Knicks fell victim to a Boston three-point avalanche, which felt inevitable after three full days of discourse about how the Celtics should attack the rim more often after missing from distance, plenty of aggrieved New Yorkers navigated over to the Yankees. Once there, they got to watch a very similar regression in action.

Rodón, who's been brilliant for the better part of a month, got porched by Luis Urías, then surrendered a world-class laser to Brent Rooker, digging himself a 4-0 hole in a blink.

And, as if things couldn't get worse, Anthony Volpe opted to freelance on the base paths (he was thrown out) and botched a hard-hit Miguel Andújar grounder after Brent Rooker torpedoed a three-run home run to extend their lead to four. Brilliant.

Yankees disaster can't distract New York fans from Knicks' horrible performance vs. Celtics

Going west is never easy, even though the Yankees certainly made it look that way by playing the part of the steamroller on Friday night.

Instead of continuing their momentum, though, they took a cue from the mess at the Garden, letting their green-colored opponent back into a series and muddling the vibes.

The Celtics were never going to clang wide-open shots forever. The A's - an actual good offense, in case you chose to ignore them and their minor-league home stadium through the season's first six weeks - were never going to disappear for the full three-game series.

In both cases, though, the disappearing momentum felt similar. Anyone looking for a balm from one meltdown certainly was unable to find what they were seeking by switching over to their other passion. For now, this certainly feels like the polar opposite of the generational night New York sports fans had on Wednesday, pairing JC Escarra's walk-off with Mikal Bridges' smothering defense.