Jayson Tatum and the Celtics deliver a record-breaking three-point barrage in Tuesday’s opener.

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BOSTON— The first game of the 2024-25 NBA season did nothing to change the idea that defending champion Boston Celtics are the clear favorite to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy again.

Game 1 of 1,230 was a thorough domination by the champions on the team many expect to be their toughest competition in the Eastern Conference, a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks in which the Celtics tied the NBA record in one match match with 29 3-pointers.

Here are some notes, quotes, numbers and videos as Boston earned its 20th win by at least 20 points since the start of last season.

1. Threes galore

The Celtics led the league in three-point percentage last season and took 47.1% of their shots from beyond the arc. On Tuesday, they took 64% of their shots from beyond the arc, and for good reasons.

First, they went inside. When the Celtics tied the record for 3s made in a game with 8:54 left in the fourth quarter, they went 29-for-48 (60.4%) from deep. Jayson Tatum was on fire, going 8-for-11 while scoring a game-high 37 points.

But so were most of those three-point attempts Good shots, open and in rhythm. The Celtics are a championship team with an elite offense and they brought everyone back.

“I feel like we picked up where we left off last year,” Tatum said. “We play from our strengths.”

Over the final 8 1/2 minutes of the game, the Celtics had 13 attempts (including some not-so-good shots) to break the record… and they missed them all. Even with all those misses at the end, they scored more efficiently on Tuesday — 132 points on 91 possessions (145.1 per 100) — than any team against the Knicks all of last season, including the playoffs.

There will be a day when a team makes 30 three-pointers in a game. And this team is a strong candidate to do it.

2. Attacking cities pays off

The Celtics’ offense is quite simple. They identify the opponent’s weakest defenders and put them in front of Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Those guys attack, and when they don’t have a shot themselves, they bend the defense, move the ball and eventually he finds a good shot.

On Tuesday, their primary target was new Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns was guarding Al Horford and on the first possession of the game, Horford set a ball screen for Tatum. Towns had drop coverage and backed up so Tatum wouldn’t pass him. And with plenty of room, Tatum just stepped into a pullup 3:

After Tatum hit a few more 3s off the dribble, Towns was forced to play higher in the pick-and-roll. And that only opened up better opportunities for Boston.

Midway through the third quarter, Horford set another screen for Tatum. Towns was high as Mikal Bridges fought across the screen to get back to his man. With the attention of two defenders, Tatum made the right play and got the ball to Horford, who swung it to Derrick White for an open 3.

On the next possession, Horford set another screen for Tatum, giving Bridges and Towns the ball again. This time, OG Anunoby turned to Horford and prevented the pick-and-pop pass.

So White flashed to the middle of the floor and pulled Josh Hart off Jaylen Brown in the right corner. One pass later, Brown had another open, in rhythm 3:

Simple basketball. Choose a matchup to exploit. Gaining an advantage. Find an open shot.

With his 37 points, Tatum also had 10 assists. And he generated more buckets than that.

“In practice, we work on reads every day,” says Tatum, “and that’s really all we do. We have plays and stuff, but we just read aloud. We know where to go, we know when to mow, we know when to spread the floor and we know when to make the extra pass.

3. Celtics aren’t afraid to guard big players with guards

Do the same in return for the Celtics isn’t that easy because they have better defensemen. If the champs have one weakness, it’s Horford defending the pick-and-roll, and he was burned off the dribble multiple times on Tuesday.

But the Celtics limited that problem by having Jrue Holiday Towns defend. That allowed them to switch Brunson-Towns’ pick-and-roll and keep a good defender in front of the player (Brunson) who generates good shots for the Knicks.

Towns was able to score in the post early against Holiday and shoot over him late in the second quarter, but that game didn’t produce nearly as many good possessions as the Celtics did against Towns on the other end of the floor.

Boston also doubled Towns at times. Normally they hate putting two guys on the ball, but the Knicks couldn’t take advantage of that on Tuesday.

Late in the first quarter, Towns plated Tatum and drew a double team. Holiday then made a spectacular play by assisting on a Cameron Payne drive, anticipating Payne’s next pass, deflecting it and taking it the other way for a layup:

The 2022-23 and ’23-24 Celtics are the first team in the 47 years since the league began counting turnovers to be ranked in the top two at both ends of the floor in two consecutive seasons. And they certainly could do it for the third time in a row.

4. Knicks lose their rebounding advantage

The Knicks’ biggest strength of the past two years is on the mend. Two seasons ago, they ranked second in both offensive rebounding percentage and total rebounding percentage. Last season they led in both competitions.

But none of the three guys who led the team in total offensive rebounds last season were available Tuesday. Isaiah Hartenstein is now with the Thunder, while Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa were both out due to injuries.

Towns stands over seven feet tall, but as a perimeter-oriented big player, he has never really been an offensive rebounder. In each of the past two seasons, he has grabbed just 5.0% of available offensive boards. (For comparison, Robinson and Hartenstein shot 17.0% and 12.9% respectively last season.

As a team, the Knicks retained just 18.4% of available offensive rebounds on Tuesday, which would have been their second-lowest percentage last season (95 total games, including playoffs). The Celtics had the advantage (16-13) in second-chance points.

Towns’ shooting will make the Knicks’ first offense more potent, but they likely won’t get as many second chances as in the past.

5. Banner No. 18 is hoisted to the rafters

Although Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is a ruthless competitor who seems completely focused on shot quality, he values ​​his role ability working for the most successful franchise in NBA history.

That was clearly a topic of conversation on Tuesday as the Celtics raised their 18th championship banner to the ceiling of the TD Garden and received their championship rings. Guests for the ceremony included Celtics legends Bob Cousy (now 96 years old), Cedric Maxwell, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

“The tradition of this organization has been entrusted to us,” Mazzulla said beforehand. “And we have a responsibility as owners, to the city and the people who came before us. This job isn’t what it is if the people before us didn’t put in the time and effort to make it what it was.”

When Mazzulla was asked about his new ring afterwards, he joked that it was too big and that he would never wear it.

“I was more fascinated by the banner,” he said. “I come here every afternoon and look at it. They represent so much.”

After receiving his ring, Tatum took the microphone and thanked the Garden crowd and the city of Boston for their support. And he ended with a simple message.

“Let’s do it again.”

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John Schuhmann is a senior statistical analyst for NBA.com. You can email him herefind his archive here And follow him on X.

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