BOSTON — The Celtics and New York Knicks took the court Tuesday night for the opening game of the NBA season, a matchup that Jalen Brunson said Tuesday morning was a good barometer — despite being the first game — for where the new-look Knicks stand. against the defending champions.

But instead of a tense, dramatic affair, the only drama on this night at TD Garden, where the Celtics raised their record-breaking 18th NBA championship flag to the rafters, was watching Boston drive the final 8:54 of the 132- 109 victory. over New York trying – and ultimately failing – to break the NBA record for three-pointers in a game.

After Al Horford had Boston’s third straight draw to start the fourth quarter with 8:54 to go – tying Boston with the Milwaukee Bucks for the NBA record with 29 goals in a game – the Celtics missed 13 straight attempts, including three airballs and several other ugly misses, in what turned out to be the one thing Boston didn’t want.

“It was almost like we were cursed or something,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “It was like when we were just playing, having fun, playing our style of basketball, everything went inward. And once the crowd got in and we started chasing them, we couldn’t even hit the wide side of the barn. Everything was off. We got a lot of great looks, and it was like a lid on the basket.

“So that shows that we’re not a team that chases threes. We play the game and do what we have to do, but I think towards the end it was difficult because we didn’t play like that. We would normally have played, but we still had some great looks.”

Before Boston’s cold streak ended the game, the Celtics had gone 29-for-48 from behind the arc — part of a team-wide offensive display that saw the Celtics finish with 33 assists compared to just three turnovers. Jayson Tatum, who was just adjusting his jersey this summer, finished with 37 points on 14-for-18 shooting, including 8-for-11 from 3-point range.

But as hot as the Celtics were for most of the game, they got cold down the stretch. Despite the crowd chanting “One more 3” several times, it wasn’t enough for Boston to get over the line as the Celtics spoiled the Knicks offseason debuts of big names Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“I asked what the record was,” Celtics guard Derrick White said, “and then someone told me. And when we were tied, I thought, ‘Oh, we’re one step away from the record.’

‘I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s kind of a no-hitter, isn’t it? I blame myself for that.’

The Knicks blamed themselves – and especially their defense – for letting the game get away from them so quickly and thoroughly. From coach Tom Thibodeau to Towns to Brunson, every part of the New York franchise made it clear that it will take a much greater effort on that end of the court to compete with Boston for Eastern Conference supremacy.

“We can talk about offense all you want,” said Towns, who had 12 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes. ‘I’ll leave that up to you when you go home and write the stories. But I know we have to play defense.”

Boston also seemed to repeatedly catch New York off guard with quick looks in transition — another thing everyone pointed to as a problem in this game. And according to Second Spectrum, the Celtics made 15 three-pointers on half-court sets that came within the first 12 seconds, the most in a game since player tracking began in 2013-14.

“We were in rotation,” said Brunson, who led the Knicks with 22 points in 24 minutes. “It started with Jayson knocking down a lot of shots out of the pick-and-roll, then we adjusted and he made the right play, which put us in the rotation.

“So I have to give them credit. They’re a good team. What they do is unique, and we were on our heels all night.”

What everyone on both sides agreed on, however, was that this was just one game of 82 for both teams. And while Boston fulfilled its stated mandate to approach this season as if it were a team challenging for the title, rather than a team claiming its 18th NBA championship, New York now sees just how much work it has to do to win the title . reach the level it hopes for this season.

“It’s Game 1,” Thibodeau said. “We didn’t have much time yet. But it’s still early and you have to learn from it. So our thing is to get better from this and watch film. I think it was a great test for a team like this, which is already up there.

“It’s a good test, and we’ll learn from that and try to build on what we’re dealing with with our habits and stuff.”