‘Shocking’: Celtics somehow blow shot at NBA history in statement win as Knicks cop reality check

The New York Knicks are supposed to be the biggest threat to the reigning champions in the Eastern Conference — and they may still be.

After all, no one expected the Knicks to be world-beaters in their first game with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges in the mix.

But they weren’t even close to Boston’s level in Wednesday’s season opener, with the Celtics sending a statement to the rest of the NBA as they dismantled the Knicks 132-109.

Average of 9 LIVE Regular Season games per week plus the best of the NBA Playoffs, including every game of the NBA Conference Finals & NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

As if that wasn’t a big enough statement, even more frightening is the fact they did it without Kristaps Porzingis, whose combination of size and shooting only took Boston’s offence to another level when he was healthy last season.

But even without Porzingis, the Celtics had no problems lighting it up from deep on Wednesday, shooting 29 3-pointers — tying an NBA record.

The record should have easily been broken, with the Celtics just one shot away with just under nine minutes to go but they missed their next 13 attempts.

Jayson Tatum led the way in a 37-point performance that sets the one for a potential MVP campaign from the Celtics superstar, going 8-for-11 from deep along with four rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and a block.

All five of Boston’s starters finished in double figures.

Elsewhere, Miles McBride was the spark for New York off the bench with 22 points while Jalen Brunson still looked like the engine of the offence but if this game proved anything it was that it may take a bit of time for this new-look Knicks team to find its groove.

Both the Knicks and Celtics showed no signs of rust early to go a combined 8-for-10 from the floor before New York called the first timeout of the game.

Boston was up 11-8 at that point, with frustrated Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau using the timeout to blow up at referee Zach Zarba after he didn’t call a foul on the previous play which saw Jalen Brunson tripped and Derrick White then score a wide-open triple on the other end for the Celtics.

Those 3-pointers kept falling for Boston though, with Tatum feeling it from deep in the first quarter as he went 4-for-6 from downtown to put the Knicks into a 30-17 hole.

At that stage the Celtics had gone 7-for-13 from deep while the Knicks had not made any of their four 3-point attempts.

McBride changed that when he beat Jrue Holiday with a pump fake and then shot through contact from OG Anunoby to draw the four-point play, although he missed the ensuing free throw.

But that McBride 3-pointer ended up being more of a blip on the radar than the start of something for the Knicks, who quickly found themselves falling further behind as the Celtics continued to fire.

In total, Boston made 10 of its 17 3-point attempts in the first quarter to shoot 59 per cent from downtown compared to just the one for New York.

It was quite the statement from the defending champions and proof the Knicks may need some time to settle into an offensive rhythm after a few big moves in the offseason.

If there was one player on the Knicks who didn’t need any time settling into a rhythm it was McBride, who continued to be New York’s most reliable bucket getter in the second quarter.

He quickly brought up 11 points and was perfect from the floor, while major offseason acquisition Mikal Bridges continued to struggle, going 0-for-4 from deep.

Unfortunately for Bridges, who shot at a 38 per cent clip in his career, it continued what is now becoming a concerning trend for 3-point land having gone 2-for-19 during the pre-season.

Bridges admitted last week that ever since he got into the league he has been trying to fix his shooting form to get it back to his college days, when he was a 40 per cent 3-point shooter.

The Celtics picked up where they left off as Jaylen Brown took advantage of a backpedaling Towns to drain a triple, before the Knicks turned it over and Derrick White added another from deep to push the lead out to 80-55.

Later, Bridges finally made his first 3-pointer of the night after six attempts as he started to put it together in the third quarter, scoring 12 points.

But it meant little if the Knicks couldn’t slow down the Celtics and even double-teaming Tatum wasn’t the solution given Boston’s elite screening and the multitude of shooters at its disposal.

The Celtics looked on track to easily pass the record for 3-pointers in a game at that point, only one away with just under nine minutes left in the game.

It quickly became obvious that the Boston players were aware of it though because suddenly they couldn’t shoot to save their life from that point, missing their next 13 3-pointers.

LIVE COVERAGE

Celtics vs Knicks (from 10.30am AEDT)