Celtics vs. Knicks: What we learned from the opening game as Boston evened the 3-point record raises questions for Mikal Bridges

The 2024-25 NBA season began right where the 2023-24 season left off: with a dominant performance from the Boston Celtics. The reigning champion Celtics defeated the new-look New York Knicks 132-109 on Tuesday night in the first game of the new season. Boston tied an NBA record with 29 3-pointers in the stunning victory. The Celtics had a chance to break the record – previously set by the Bucks in December 2020 – but the team missed its final 13 3-point attempts.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 37 points, making 14 of his 18 field goal attempts and eight of his 11 three-pointers. Six Celtics scored in double figures, including all starters, and seven different Boston players made at least one 3-pointer after them received their championship rings in a pre-game ceremony. Boston shot 29 for 61 on 3s (47.5%) and shot 60.4% on threes before going on a cold streak late in the game, mostly coming from substitutes.

It was a memorable start for the Knicks, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges making their team debuts after being dealt in separate blockbuster trades this offseason. Towns had 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting (and only made two 3-pointers). Bridges finished with 16 points but got off to a rocky start as he continues to struggle with shooting issues. Jalen Brunson and sixth man Deuce McBride both scored a team-high 22 points in the loss.

Here are three things we learned from Boston’s season-opening win.

1. Bad start for Bridges (with a glimmer of hope)

The Celtics opened the game with Al Horford defending Josh Hart. This is a bit unconventional by traditional NBA standards. Horford is a center. A wing is hard. But this strategy has become an increasingly common strategy in the modern league as more teams have developed shooting bigs. Focus on the poor shooter so he can provide help elsewhere. Hart is, on paper, the Knicks’ worst shooter, so the Celtics mostly let Horford defend him early.

They turned things around in the second quarter. Both Horford and Luke Kornet spent a lot of time guarding Bridges, even when Hart was on the floor. The Celtics decided midway through the game that Bridges, with an inexplicable change in his releaseHe was the least threatening kink. In fact, he shot 0-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. After going 2-for-19 in the preseason, Knicks fans were right to be scared. They had just spent five first-round picks on a shooting guard whose release had a bizarre snag.

Luckily for New York, Bridges pulled himself together in the second half. He made two of his three three-pointers in the third quarter, but remarkably he also made all five of his six two-point shots in the second half. As Bridges stood behind the arc, serving as a spacer for others, he had time to think, which impacted his release. When the Knicks moved him into the offense and gave him more freedom to create, his release looked a little more natural. Admittedly, it still didn’t look great. This will be an ongoing concern for New York. But the key for New York might simply be keeping him in rhythm. Bridges seems more comfortable shooting 3s when he also takes 2s.

2. The Celtics will let it fly

Last season, Joe Mazzulla called 3-point attempt percentage the most important stat in modern basketball. In fact, the Celtics led the league as 47.1% of their field goals came from behind the arc. Well, the Celtics pushed those boundaries even further on Tuesday. While it’s just a one-game sample, 64.2% of Boston’s shots came from long range. This aggressive three-point shooting helped them break the NBA record by making 29 three-pointers in the entire game.

We should note here that this game was a perfect storm in itself. The Knicks had a bizarre game plan that featured minimal substitutions and a ton of help for the ball handlers. Her style helped make Boston’s barrage possible, but even when you get that many open 3s, you don’t always make it. The opposing defense will be better. The Celtics won’t be quite as lucky. The was an outlier even by Boston standards.

But Boston’s historic shooting night was about more than just the things they did. Their volume was perhaps more of a hint of what was to come. The Celtics set a team record with 61 3-point attempts, which was also the fifth most attempted by any team in a game. At this point, expect the Celtics to continue pushing the limits from deep and potentially become the first team ever to attempt more 3s than 2s in an NBA season.

3. Jayson Tatum is on a revenge spree

No, we won’t speculate on the MVP award after the first game of the season. But if we named an MVP favorite after a single game? It’s Jayson Tatum’s award to lose. He opened the season with a near flawless 37 points on 14 of 18 shooting to go along with 10 assists and his standard stellar defense. After a postseason in which he hit just 28.3% of his triples, he made eight on 11 attempts in this game.

The Celtics haven’t exactly been received like a typical champion this offseason. Much of the discourse centered around all the Eastern Conference stars getting injured during or before games against the Celtics, and Team USA’s Olympic run only added gasoline to the fire. Tatum barely played for Team USA. Jaylen Brown was completely left off the gold medal-winning squad. Despite a historic point differential and one of the best records in league history, the Celtics were emphatically not treated like a typical champion.

It’s hard to deny that they carried that energy into this season with the way they played on opening night. The Knicks were a perfect opponent for such a statement. This is the team that made the most eye-catching moves in the offseason. New York is widely considered Boston’s biggest rival in the Eastern Conference with its revamped squad. And there was no answer at all for Tatum. He cooked Mikal Bridges individually all evening. He chased Karl-Anthony Towns plenty in the pick-and-roll. He was easily the best player on the floor in the season opener, setting the tone for what could be his best NBA season yet.