The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have combined to win nearly half (35 of 78) of the NBA championships since the league’s inception, and the two premier franchises took center stage Tuesday night on the NBA’s Opening Night.
Celtics 132, Knicks 109
There’s no championship hangover in Boston.
The Celtics hung their 18th banner and tried on their new rings in a pregame ceremony Tuesday night. They then proceeded to trounce the New York Knicks, picking up where they left off in June with a 132-109 win to open the new NBA season, tying a 3-point record in the process.
Jayson Tatum started the game with a 3-pointer in the game’s opening 10 seconds. It was a sign of things to come as Boston torched the Knicks with a 29-of-61 effort from 3-point distance, setting a new NBA record for 3s made in a single game. The Milwaukee Bucks previously set the record with 29 3-pointers in a 144-97 romp over the Miami Heat in 2020.
Tatum, who spent the bulk of his summer in Paris on the bench as a little-used Olympian, led the way and again showed his chops as the centerpiece of a championship team. He finished the game with 37 points 10 assists and four rebounds while shooting 14 of 18 from the field and 8 of 11 from 3.
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Lakers vs. Timberwolves
The Lakers may have one of the most anticipated debuts for a second-round pick in NBA history as Bronny James suits up for his first regular-season game, and may take the floor with his legendary father as L.A. hosts Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. LeBron James has talked often throughout the years about wanting to play with his son, and the two did share the floor in the preseason. A father-son duo has never played together in the NBA, but Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. were the first to do so in Major League Baseball and will be in attendance tonight.
Yahoo Sports has you covered with previews of all 30 teams, hot takes, breakout candidates and much more. Stay with Yahoo Sports for live coverage of NBA Opening Night 2024 below.
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Celtics roll, don’t break 3-point record
That’s a wrap on a dominant opening night for the Boston Celtics. The Celtics cruised to a 132-109 in over the New York Knicks in their first game since winning last season’s NBA championship.
They tied the NBA record for 3-pointers with their 29th early in the fourth quarter. But they fell short of claiming it as their own, missing their last 13 3-point attempts after clearing the bench in the blowout. No matter. It was a night to celebrate in Boston.
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Karl-Anthony Towns calls it a night
The Celtics didn’t exactly give Karl-Anthony Towns the warmest welcome to the Knicks.
Assuming his night is done, as Boston holds a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter, Towns finished his debut for the Knicks with 12 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 3P), seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
The offense often looked discombobulated with Towns in the mix. He found himself out of position and in the way of the action on multiple occasions, not providing the space that his shoot ability should provide.
Defensively, it was worse. About as bad as the Knicks could have imagined. The Celtics scored 166 points per 100 possessions through the first three quarters, closing in on an NBA record for successful 3-pointers. The Knicks have been out-rebounded, though that may be because the Celtics rarely missed.
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Celtics tie 3-point record
Al Horford just hit a 3 for Boston’s 29th of the night, tying the all-time record for 3-pointers in an NBA game. There’s 8:35 remaining on the clock.
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Celtics 1 away from tying 3-point record
Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown each hit 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter, and the Celtics are up to 28, one away from tying the single-game NBA record.
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Celtics cruise into fourth quarter
The Celtics are keeping their foot on the gas and carry a 113-87 lead into the fourth quarter. The only question remaining is whether they’ll break the single game 3-point record.
It appears likely. They have 26 through three quarters. The record is 29 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.
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Celtics threatening single-game 3-point record
The Celtics are up to 24 made 3-pointers midway through the third quarter. The record for a single game is 29 by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020.
Here’s Jrue Holiday with No. 20:
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Mikal Bridges’ jumper? Maybe broken
While Boston’s Jayson Tatum dispelled of the notion that his shot was broken within minutes of opening tip, shooting 6-of-9 from 3 in Tuesday’s first half, Knicks counterpart Mikal Bridges cannot say the same.
Bridges missed all five his shot attempts in the opening half, including four 3-point attempts. He did not make his first shot until a smoother-looking corner 3-pointer in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
His shot clearly looks different, and he told reporters last week that he indeed changed his mechanics.
“When I came out of college, I kind of tweaked it a little bit,” he said. “Then my second year in the league, I had the hitch, and tried to build back from that ever since. So just trying to get it right. Pretty much it.”
The hitch is back. Bridges shot 2-for-19 from deep in the preseason. So why Bridges did feel the need to change his jumper. He is a career 37.5% 3-point shooter and shot 37.2% on 7.2 tries a game last season.
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Jaylen Brown opens the second half with a 3, and the Celtics are off to the races.
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Notable halftime stats
Celtics 74, Knicks 55
Celtics shooting: 27 of 49 (55.1%)
Knicks shooting: 22 of 38 (57.9%)Celtics 3-point shooting: 17 of 32 (53.1%)
Knicks 3-point shooting: 4 of 14 (28.6%)Jayson Tatum: 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds; 9 of 12 from the field, 6 of 9 from 3
Jaylen Brown (12 points), Derrick White (11) Jrue Holiday (10) all in double figuresJalen Brunson: 15 points, 2 assists; 6 of 7 from the field, 1 of 2 from 3
Karl-Anthony Towns: 12 points, 5 rebounds
Mikal Bridges: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists; 0 for 5 from the field, 0 for 4 from 3 -
Scorching Celtics roll to 74-55 halftime lead
The Celtics have been on fire from inside and out with no signs of a championship hangover midway through their season opener. They lead the Knicks, 74-55 at halftime after receiving their championship rings in a pregame ceremony.
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The Celtics are doing it on both ends of the floor. Here’s Jaylen Brown picking Jalen Brunson’s pocket for an easy dunk on the other end.
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Miles McBride trying to keep Knicks afloat
A Knicks reserve is doing his best to keep New York in this. Miles McBride is 6 for 6 from the field to lead New York with 14 points. But Boston leads, 54-35 midway through the second quarter.
Jalen Brunson has 6 points and has made all three of his field goal attempts, but hasn’t scored since early in the first quarter. Miles Bridges is 0 for 5 from the field including 0 for 4 from 3-point distance so far in his Knicks debut. Karl-Anthony Towns has 6 points and 4 rebounds.
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Celtics hit 10 1Q 3s
Here’s a look at all 10 made 3s by the Celtics in the first quarter.
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Jayson Tatum’s shot? Not broken
There was some concern about Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s jump shot over the summer. He shot 28.3% from 3-point range in the playoffs. He missed every jumper he took at the Olympics and sat for two of Team USA’s six games in Paris, leading many observers to believe his shot had something to do with it.
Asked about his errant jumper at media day, Tatum conceded that he had made some slight adjustments to his mechanics, though he explained that these kinds of minor tweaks are common practice for him.
“Been working with my trainer a lot recently in the last few weeks,” he said last month. “A few mechanical things — pick-up points, hand placement, getting lower, keeping my shoulders forward and things like that. … There were some things I could have fixed, but in the midst of the playoffs, trying to manage your rest, it’s a little tougher. I was still playing well. I just wasn’t shooting the ball as well as I would have liked. And, obviously, we were winning, so it wasn’t the time or the place to try to fix things in that moment.”
If we learned anything in the opening minutes of Boston’s first game, it was that Tatum’s shot is far from broken (if it ever was). He attempted six 3s in the opening quarter and made four of them, staking the Celtics to a 43-24 lead in the opening frame. This after he shot 41.4% from distance in the preseason.
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Celtics catch fire for 43-24 lead
After taking a 21-16 lead into the second timeout of the game, the Celtics have taken over. Boston ran off a 22-8 run to close the first quarter and enter the second with a 43-24 lead. They’re 16 of 27 from the field and 10 of 17 from 3.
They’ve picked up right where they left off from last season’s championship run with a first-quarter gut punch to a Knicks team playing with a revamped lineup.
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The new-look Knicks have countered with a strong start of their own. They’re 8 of 13 from the field early including six points from Jalen Brunson, who’s hit all three of his shots from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns in on the board with his first bucket as a Knick.
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There’s no ring ceremony hangover in Boston. The Celtics are off to a hot start with a 21-16 lead at the 4:51 mark of the first quarter. They’re 8 of 17 from the field including a 4-of-9 pace from 3. Looks a lot like last season so far.
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Jayson Tatum opens the game with a 3-pointer, and the new NBA season is underway.
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And here’s Boston’s 18th championship banner:
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Here’s the much anticipated new-look Knicks starting lineup:
Jalen Brunson
Josh Hart
OG Anunoby
Mikal Bridges
Karl-Anthony Towns
