Jayson Tatum kept the celebration of Boston’s Banner 18 going by scoring 37 points and making eight of the Celtics’ NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers on Tuesday, leading to a 132-109 win over the New York Knicks on opening night.
Derrick White added 24 points, and Jaylen Brown contributed 23, while Tatum also had 10 assists for the defending champions, who raised their NBA-high 18th championship banner before the game. Boston had a lead of up to 35 points before missing their last 13 attempts from 3-point range while trying to set a new record.
Jalen Brunson scored 22 points for New York, and new player Karl-Anthony Towns managed just 12 points and seven rebounds.
As the Celtics led by more than 20 points early in the third quarter, the crowd at TD Garden began chanting “Yankees Suck!” instead of focusing on the game.
The revamped Knicks were seen as the biggest challenge for the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, but despite adding Towns and Mikal Bridges over the summer, they couldn’t compete with the team that finished 14 games ahead last season.
On July 28, U.S. Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr benched Tatum for a game against Serbia, ensuring Tatum would be highly motivated for the Celtics’ title defense.
The Celtics made their 29th 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but then missed two long shots and 13 in a row while trying to break the record set by Milwaukee in 2020. The crowd chanted “One more 3!” in the closing minutes, but on Boston’s final possession, Payton Pritchard let the shot clock run out without taking another shot.
