Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the visiting New York Knicks 132-109 in the NBA season opener after hoisting their championship banner before the game and setting an NBA record with 29 3-pointers.
Jayson Tatum of Boston finished with a game-high 37 points after making 8 of 11 3-point attempts. He had ten assists as well. In the win, seven Celtics made at least one 3-pointer.
When the Milwaukee Bucks made 29 3-pointers against the Miami Heat on December 29, 2020, the Celtics equaled the record.
When the Celtics faced the Knicks on November 5, 2022, they made 27 3-pointers in a game, which was their previous franchise record. On Tuesday, Boston made 50.5 percent of their shots from the field and 47.5 percent of their 3-point attempts (29 of 61).
Tatum was one of five Celtics in double figures. Horford finished with 11, Sam Hauser contributed 10, Jaylen Brown had 23, Jrue Holiday had 18, and Derrick White tossed in 24. Brown shot five 3-pointers and White had six. Boston's top two rebounds were Xavier Tillman and Brown, each with seven.
For New York, Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride each scored 22 points. In his Knicks debut, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Mikal Bridges contributed 16 points. Cameron Payne scored 11 points, and Josh Hart scored 12.
In the defeat, the Knicks shot 36.7 percent from long range (11 of 30) and 55.1 percent from the field.
The Celtics were ahead 43-24 at the half, 74-55 at the half, and 113-87 going into the fourth quarter.
Boston connected on 17 shots (on 32 tries) from beyond the arc in the first two quarters, making 10 of its 17 3-point attempts in the first quarter and tying a team record for made 3-pointers in a half. Despite shooting 57.9 percent from the field, the Knicks were behind 19 at the half.
Thirty-five points was the Celtics' biggest advantage of the game. In the first few minutes, the Knicks had their only lead, 6-5.