Tatum and Celtics celebrate Banner 18 by hitting a record-breaking 29 3-pointers and crushing the Knicks 132-109

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum continued Boston's Banner 18th celebration by scoring 37 points and hitting eight of the Celtics' NBA-record 29 3-pointers on Tuesday as Boston ran away with a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks on opening night.

Derrick White scored 24 points, Jaylen Brown added 23 and Tatum had 10 assists for the defending champions, who raised their NBA-high 18th championship banner before the game. Boston led by as many as 35 points before missing its final 13 3-point attempts in an attempt to break the record.

Jalen Brunson scored 22 points for New York and newcomer Karl-Anthony Towns had just 12 points and seven rebounds.

With the Celtics leading by more than 20 points early in the third quarter, the TD Garden crowd turned away from the basketball game and began chanting “Yankees Suck!”

Takeaways

The new-look Knicks were supposed to be the Celtics' biggest threat in the Eastern Conference, but even after adding Towns and Mikal Bridges over the summer, they were no match for the team that led by 14 games last season.

Key moment

On July 28, U.S. Olympic basketball coach Steve Kerr benched Tatum for a game against Serbia, guaranteeing that Tatum would be motivated for the Celtics' title defense.

Key statistics

The Celtics made their 29th 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, then fired two long airballs and 13 straight missed shots from beyond the arc, moving toward the record set by Milwaukee in 2020. The crowd chanted “One more 3!” in the final minutes, but on Boston's final possession, Payton Pritchard dribbled out of the shot clock without making another attempt.

Next

The Celtics visit Washington on Thursday and the Knicks play their home opener against Indiana on Friday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba