It was an excellent night to be a Celtics fan last night. The team celebrated the 2023-24 NBA Championship by raising Banner 18 and receiving their rings. The team also proved they are still the team to beat in the NBA, defeating the Knicks 132-109 in a game that was over by halftime.
Josh Hart could not believe the C’s historic night from three 😅 pic.twitter.com/3n3CV6YsNd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 23, 2024
The Celtics came out firing last night and led the game from the jump. The Knicks had a one-point lead with 11:09 left in the first quarter, and then after that, it was all Celtics. Jayson Tatum came out firing in the first quarter, putting up 15 points on 5/7 shooting and 4/6 from the three-point line. The Celtics finished the first quarter up 43-24 and poured in nine three-point makes in the quarter. The Celtics cruised from there, eventually building up to their largest lead in the fourth quarter to 35 points. In this blowout victory, the Celtics tied the NBA record for three-point makes with 29 but could not make the 30th three-pointer, going 0-13 from behind the arc to finish the game.
The Celtics, even without Kristaps Porzingis, seemed as dominant as ever. The Celtics scored 113 points through three quarters, and there was nothing the Knicks could do to really stop them. Tatum had the best performance on the team, scoring 37 points while shooting 77.8% from the field and having a 98% true shooting percentage, but everyone else did their part. Brown put up a solid 23-point performance while going 5/9 from behind the arc. Derrick White again proved why he is so valuable, pouring in 24 points in 26 minutes while making six three-pointers. Jrue Holiday was extremely efficient, scoring 18 points while shooting 77.8% from the field. Horford, Hauser, Pritchard, and Kornet all did their parts and completed a total team win. The Celtics take on the Wizards in D.C. tomorrow night.
final. pic.twitter.com/MxbKsiBGPi
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) October 23, 2024
For the Knicks, it is clear that this new team needs time to gel. With all of the moving parts and pieces from last season, it was clear watching that game that this team needed more time. Despite outshooting the Celtics from the field, it never really felt like they were in this game because of the heavy deficit from the three-point line (29 3PM for the Celtics—11 3PM for the Knicks).
Newly acquired big man Karl-Anthony Towns scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 23 minutes of playing time. While new asset Mikal Bridges scored 16 points but struggled from behind the arc, only shooting 2/7. Star point-guard Jalen Brunson also had a solid game, scoring 22 points on 64.3% shooting from the field. But the main star for the Knicks tonight was fourth-year guard Miles McBride, scoring 22 points on 80% shooting from the field. With no Donte DiVincenzo, McBride might see an expanded role. It's a brutal way to start the season for the Knicks, but there are still 81 more games to grow and learn as a unit. The Knicks have an East Conference Semi-Finals rematch against the Pacers on Friday night.
