BOSTON — The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks took the court for the opening game of the NBA season Tuesday night, a clash that Jalen Brunson said Tuesday morning was a fair barometer — despite being the first game of the season — for where the new-look Knicks stand against the defending champions.
But instead of a tense, dramatic affair, the only drama on this night here at TD Garden was watching Boston spend the final 8:54 of Tuesday's 132-109 win over New York trying — and, ultimately, failing — to break the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a game.
After Al Horford tied the record with Boston's third straight make to start the fourth quarter with 8:54 remaining — pushing Boston into a tie with the 2020-21 Milwaukee Bucks for the NBA record with 29 makes in a game — the Celtics then went on to miss 13 consecutive attempts to break it, including three airballs and several other ugly misses.
Despite the crowd chanting «One more three» on several occasions, it wasn't enough for Boston to get over the line — the only thing that went wrong for the Celtics on a night when they absolutely dominated the Knicks, playing their first game with offseason acquisitions Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Boston quickly showed it was going to have a big night when it came out and went 10-for-16 from 3-point range in the first quarter before matching the franchise record of 17 made triples while staking to a 19-point halftime lead.
In addition to those 29 made 3-pointers, Boston shot 50 percent from the field for the game and finished with 33 assists compared to just three turnovers.
Boston ultimately outscored New York by 54 points from behind the arc (29 made 3s to 11) and nearly made more than New York attempted in total (30)
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