The defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Boston Celtics exploded for 29 3-pointers and opened the 2024-2025 season with a 23-point victory.
The Celtics cruised to a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks in the opening game of the 2024-2025 NBA season at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday night (Jan. 23) to start their quest for a second straight title.
Led by the “one-two punch” of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics, who defeated the Dallas Mavericks in last season's championship game, are the favorites to retain their title this season.
New York, who hosted Boston on opening night, is also a powerhouse, having finished second in the Eastern Conference in the regular season last year.
The Knicks added Karl-Anthony Towns, arguably the NBA's best outside shooting big man, from the Minnesota Timberwolves to open the season, but they were unable to overcome a tightly-organized Boston squad in the first game.
The Celtics shot 61 three-pointers on the night, hitting 29 of them. That's a whopping 47.5 percent three-point percentage.
Boston's 29 three-pointers tied the most in a single game in NBA history. The last time the Milwaukee Bucks hit 29 threes against the Miami Heat was in December 2020.
Ace Tatum led the way with 37 points and 10 assists. It was the most points and assists for either team. Brown, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) 메이저사이트 of last season's championship game, chipped in with 23 points and seven rebounds.
Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, who won gold with Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, added 24 and 18 points, respectively.
For New York, ace Jaylen Brunson scored 22 points but was unable to contain Boston's perimeter defense. The highly touted “transfer” Towns had just 12 points and seven rebounds.
In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers opened the season with a 110-103 win over Minnesota.
Despite LeBron James' 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists, big man Anthony Davis dominated on offense with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
Japanese international forward Rui Hachimura added 18 points, both inside and out.
James' son, Brownie James, played 2 minutes, 41 seconds in his first official NBA regular season game.
He entered the game with his father James with four minutes left in the second quarter, marking the first time in NBA history that a father and son played in a regular season game at the same time.
However, he missed both of his shots and did not score.
For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points, but he was blitzed by Davis in the paint in Towns' absence and missed the opening night win.