The big, bad New York Knicks didn’t look so big and bad on Tuesday night.

New York spent its offseason assembling one of the most intimidating starting fives in the league, acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets to join Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart to come to stand.

But the Knicks were left completely exposed in their season opener against the Celtics, finishing on the wrong side of a 132-109 loss in which Boston hit 29 triples (on 61 attempts) to tie an NBA single-game record .

Anunoby struggled the most, scoring just four points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field in 34 minutes of action. Bridges went for 16 points in his debut, while Towns delivered 12 and seven rebounds.

Chances are the Celtics had a little extra pep in their step after seeing an 18th banner rise into the rafters prior to tip-off, but it was still an embarrassing display from a New York team that was quickly considered a title contender . Cities landed in the Big Apple.

There will already be some naysayers saying it’s time for the Knicks to hit the panic button. As we know, many fans and analysts love to overreact even though we haven’t played Game 2 of 82 yet.

However, the Knicks are doing just fine. What we really need to talk about is how good Boston really is.

If there’s one team capable of putting together a dynastic run right now, it’s the Celtics. Beating New York like they did on Tuesday is one thing, but doing it with big man Kristaps Porzingis watching from the bench in a suit jacket is the next level.

Based on last season’s title run and what we saw against the Knicks, it’s hard to imagine anyone can beat Boston in a seven-game series. That said, a lot could happen between now and April. Trades, injuries, other teams finding their feet – the Celtics aren’t just going to peacefully return to the Finals.

What makes things even sweeter for Boston is the front office’s dedication to keeping the core intact. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could end up spending their entire careers in green and white, and they’ll have Jrue Holiday and Derrick White by their side until at least 2026-2027. Porzingis will be signed during the 2025-2026 campaign.

And we have to appreciate what those five guys are doing now.

Admittedly, this is all very easy for me to say. I grew up in Massachusetts, now live in Boston, and once had to *try* to root for a 25-57 Celtics team in 2013-2014 that was somewhat dependent on Gerald Wallace.

While Boston has never had a long, painful playoff drought, it always came close to the finish line until last season. So to now have a period where two, three, maybe even four championships are a real possibility?

That’s special.

Of course, it’s always easy to get high after blowing out on Opening Night. The next five years will be a marathon, not a sprint.

But on Tuesday, the Celtics showed the league that they are still the team to beat. Not the Knicks. Not the Philadelphia 76ers. No one in the West. The Celtics. And they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.